See Ideas Everywhere (without mindless consumption)

Most of us take in more than ever. Podcasts on the drive. Videos at lunch. A few chapters before bed. A scroll whenever there’s a gap.

And still, when it’s time to write something, say something, or make something, the ideas feel borrowed. Like we’re just passing along what someone else said last week.

Here’s what I’ve learned: more input won’t fix that. Noticing will.

Flip the order

Most people learn an idea first, then go looking for a picture to explain it.

Try it the other way. Start with a moment from your own life, and let the idea come out of it.

Your everyday life is already full of ideas. You’ve just been walking past them.

Three simple moves

1. See. Watch for the little “Huh. That’s interesting.” moments. Something weird, funny, or beautiful. You don’t need to know what it means yet. Just write it down.

2. Shape. Turn it over. Ask, “What does this remind me of?” Look for how it works, then try to sum it up in one line.

3. Share. Put it in a small form. A sentence, a sketch, a question at dinner. Don’t over-explain. Let it land.

Here’s what that looks like

See

I was making a quick taco salad for lunch. Nothing fancy.

I rinsed off a handful of cilantro, and as I brought it close, the smell hit me. Bright. Fresh. That alone stopped me for a second.

Then a thought popped into my head: “Add water to your cilantro.”

Wait... isn’t that how it works with ideas too? Sometimes it’s not until you rinse or stir up an idea that it actually gives off its aroma.

I didn’t know what it meant yet. But it felt like something.

Shape

I jotted it down in my notes app and moved on.

Later I wondered: does washing cilantro really bring out the smell? I couldn’t find much to back that up, so I let it go.

But the next morning, out on a walk, I remembered something. Chopping cilantro makes it smell stronger. This time I looked it up and found out why: breaking the leaves releases the stuff that carries the scent.

That small detail gave the whole idea its shape.

Ideas, like cilantro, carry their best stuff inside. But it’s not always obvious at first. You have to rinse them. Break them down. Get into them. That’s when the aroma comes out.

Share

Then I put it into words:

Ideas are like cilantro. They smell the strongest when you break them open.

Simple. Memorable. Shareable.

And it came straight from lunch.

Try it this week

Notice one thing that catches your attention. Ask what it reminds you of. Write it down in a sentence or two.

That’s it. That’s the whole practice. And the more you do it, the more you’ll see.

Want to go deeper?

I wrote a short e-book that walks through all of this step by step: how to train your eye to notice, how to find the idea hiding inside a moment, and how to share it so it sticks. It’s full of real examples, including the hummingbird that started it all.

See Ideas Everywhere is short enough to read in one sitting.

Buy the e-book

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