Choose a theme. Then make a list of anything associated with it. Write down your automatic associations. Then think outside the box. Look at it from a different angle. From a different historical time. Change the context.

Your list is proof that diverse iterations can grow from a single idea seed.

Your creative idea is the same. Loosely write automatic assumptions, first thoughts. Then let the seeds soak for a bit and write other ideas from different angles and contexts. What if you created for a different audience? Chose a different medium to represent your idea? Did the opposite of what is usually ‘on brand’ for you?

The direction you decide to go is completely up to you. In reality, you can go in many different creative directions. All that it requires is for you to continually show up to do the work, dance with the possibility that it might not work and push the boundaries of your own comfort zone.

If you’re willing to make something and put it out into the world because it hasn’t ever been done before and it may change someone for the better, then you know what I’m writing about. You’re reading this and nodding. You know the feeling of accomplishment and pride that comes with service and generosity and dancing with fear to bring an idea to life. This is where the true magic lies.

The good news is we don’t just get one seed to plant in a lifetime.

If we’re lucky and generous and hard-working, we can plant an entire garden.