Ideas

“I’ve got a great idea” ~ Harry Connick Jnr

Or, as defined by my dictionary

Idea (n): any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity. A thought, conception, or notion.

 

Have a look around you. You are surrounded by the product of ideas. From the device you are reading this on to the gadget you last used in your kitchen, from the last medical treatment you received to the clothes you are currently wearing. (And if you are reading this naked – put some clothes on, you’ll catch your death!)

My point is that everything starts with an idea. Some of them are great like “let’s have another drink“. And some of them are terrible like “let’s just have one more“. Some are the start of something amazing, some of them turn out to be more Sinclair C5.

But they are all ideas and the idea is the birth of the creative process. We wouldn’t have landed on the moon, built the Taj Mahal,  flown by Concorde, if somebody somewhere hadn’t had the idea, the spark that started it all. So what other marvels are we still to create?

Of course not all ideas turn out to be good – someone created the sub machine gun, someone created the atom bomb. Human beings have devoted vast swathes of time on various methods of killing each other. But then we have also eradicated smallpox, we created penicillin, somebody somewhere created Compeed* plasters for blisters and I thank them every time I wear a new pair of shoes.

So think about your ideas; the good, the bad, the crazy, the romantic, the implausible ones, the impractical ones. What could you do to turn them into reality today? Have tinker, make a few sketches, work on your pitch to Dragons Den. Where could your ideas of today take us in the tomorrow of the future?

 

Princess

 

 

*other blister products are available

Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

“Sometimes you can’t make it on your own” ~ U2

Or, as defined as by my dictionary

Support (vb): to carry the weight of; to give practical or emotional help; to give approval to;                         to take an active interest in

 

No-one gets through life without support; from the hand that holds you as you take your first steps, the friends that metaphorically & sometimes literally pick you up off the floor as you recover from heartbreak, the lover that strokes your hair and tells you that it will be alright. We all need it and have had it or we wouldn’t be here.

Support takes many forms, of course, and is not always the personal kind as implied in that paragraph. Manchester United are one of the biggest football clubs in the world due to their supporters (other football teams are available). A Man Utd shirt may not be welcome everywhere but it will certainly be recognised in many, many places. The same principle works for bands, films, etc; approval is shown by attending gigs, screenings and so forth then active interest is shown in talking about them, buying into the merchandise, spreading the word.

And there are many things that need support and that word spreading right now. Our libraries, our fire stations, our coastguards, our police, our NHS; the list of public services being decimated is ever increasing. Twitter is awash with accounts for all these; all suffering cuts, all needing our support, our active interest, in order to keep them going. As a society we need private business but we need public service too. One will never be able to function without the other.

Some of those accounts started just because one person had an idea. And told someone about it. And that person listened. And told someone else about it. And so, like Chinese Whispers but more effective, the word spreads. We’ve seen all too recently the damage that is caused by incorrect words being spread online so let’s redress that balance and take a bit of time to support those causes that do need pushing, to back those who are brave enough to have a good idea and tell someone else about it.

I’m not going to add a list of those that matter to me here. I write about them, I tweet about them, I promote them here & in my conversations. Who or what you choose to support is up to you; I just would like people to think about giving their support to the things in life that matter.

And, on that final note, nothing will matter more than your loved ones. Tell them you love them, support them, whether you think they need it or not, because none of us can make it on our own and we do all need each other. Do it today as one day there won’t be a tomorrow.

 

Princess