Your Next Big Idea: Improve Your Creativity and Problem-Solving

Your Next Big Idea is the perfect book for anyone who wants to tap into their creative mind. The author does a wonderful job of breaking down how ideas are formed and giving the reader exercises and activities throughout the book to spark new ideas and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone.

The book is divided into six sections, each building one on top of the other. The first section is about identifying problems that our ideas can solve. The section on stigma may be my favorite chapter of all because many times people do things or think a certain way because of the stigmas that are ingrained in their lives. They may not even know why they do something a certain way, because it’s just the way they’ve always done it and the way their mother or father before them has done it as well. Being able to identify the stigmas in our lives and get past them can open up new doors for creative ideas. The author teaches the reader how to identify stigmas and how to erase them.

The activities the author includes in the book are fun and creative. One of the activities that I will be going back and doing is the one in which the author says to invent “The Worst Company Idea.” His examples include “smelly, used underwear outlet” or “mattresses made of bee nests.” This is such a great way to get the reader to really think outside the box. In the next part of the activity, the reader is to exchange their favorite “worst company” idea with a partner and present it to an investor for a new company. This activity could easily turn very silly and I can even imagine it turning into a board game one day.

Your Next Big Idea is not just for people who are looking for ideas on how to start a business, although the author does include a section on that. Many of us do the same thing day in and day out. This book is a breath of fresh air in letting people let their creative minds run wild. Your Next Big Idea has fabulous suggestions for both adults and children. I would recommend this book to people of all ages who want to feel that spark of an idea again, no matter how unrealistic or silly it may seem. You never know what your mind will come up with!