Photo – Travel Adventure Photographer - Gregg Jaden.   

How to have innovative ideas? This question has intrigued many people for thousands of years. For various reasons and in various contexts, creativity has always been a skill admired by people and very important for the success and even the survival of humanity. In the business context, being creative is always seen with very good eyes. Having innovative ideas can be a differential to get that promotion or the way to find a viable and profitable business.

If you have already researched innovation you may have noticed that people are not very good at talking about innovative ideas and creativity. We share some wise and practical tips you can apply to your life today!

Gregg Jaden, a pro photographer known for his beautiful landscape photography, and off the grid travel adventures, shares some experience on how to motivate yourself creatively when not feeling it. 

Imagine if there were habits or techniques that could make you more creative, that help you to have innovative ideas and in large quantities. Because that's exactly what we're going to talk about in the following tips.

Innovative ideas are most often combinations of information or the simple application of a concept that works in an environment in another area.

Confused? For example, do you know how the printing press was invented?

We can call her the “mother of printers” and that has propelled all the print media worldwide.

One day Johann Gutemberg had the idea of using the concept of the gold stamp, used to print coins to make printing on paper.This gave life to the first printed materials using ink and pressure from metal clichés. You don’t have to make a printer, the idea is to create something. Try a better way of doing something while making a DIY contraption just for fun. Even if it’s a complete fail it will help your brain exercise that creative muscle. 

The goal here is for you to understand that the first step in having good ideas is to have information and references.

It is to understand how things work! The more information you have, the greater your chances of being able to mix with each other and have great ideas. Even if you never felt the urge, innovate and create a better way of doing anything that comes to mind. 

Be curious! Every day set aside 30 to 60 minutes to read important information, feed your brain important information and read a chapter of a new book, search the internet for any information on the topics you are passionate about.

Choose wisely what you are going to read, social networks are not the best source of knowledge and I guarantee you spend more than 30 minutes connected per day. Be selective in the content you consume. This will improve your overall attitude. 

Joining your hunches with other people's ideas can be a great way to come up with innovative ideas!

In this process, just as important as speaking is listening to people. Often your friends and acquaintances may have the missing part for your big idea. Make sure these are trusted people and not potentials to steal a brilliant idea you might have. 

Gregg Jaden shares his experience on creative support from others. “I bounce ideas off trusted friends all the time. They bounce ideas off me as well. It’s a sense of comradery. I prefer team environments and working with other creatives. I know it’s literally impossible for one person to  always have the answers. No oscar film was made by one person. No incredible anything was made without help. Even tennis players need a coach. Having team contribution will always catapult your projects to new levels unable to achieve as the lone ranger. I can name countless stories of some of the most successful people in the world that have been saved from catastrophes by receiving feedback/ideas from others who had a fresh perspective. It works best if your friends are like minded. Never bounce ideas off pessimists or naysayers. You can pretty much predict what the outcome of that conversation will be. Trusted friends will always tell you the truth and this is what everyone needs” says Jaden. 

Do you know when you're trying to solve a problem, spend several hours and can't find the solution? The next day you try again and solve the problem in 15 minutes? With innovative ideas this also happens, for connections to take place, a “maturation time” is necessary.

I'm not telling you that you don't have to do anything and the ideas will come. Sometimes you need to slow down, find your quiet place to let ideas for your brain to assimilate information and make new connections. The author Steven Johnson who wrote the book “Where good ideas come from” calls this process Slow Hunch. He says in the book that ideas need an incubation time to find the missing parts.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes and especially don't try to avoid crazy ideas when trying to generate insights! “I love making mistakes. It means I’m one step closer to the solution. I have learned the most from my mistakes in every aspect of my life” says Jaden.

This tip brings together two important things: 

The first learning is: the only way to really learn is by making and inevitably making mistakes.

You may have heard Thomas Edison's famous phrase “I didn't fail. I only discovered 10,000 ways that don't work. ”

That's exactly the spirit; don't be afraid to make mistakes!

If you aspire to become a top Instagram influencer like Gregg Jaden,(Instagram @greggjaden_), who dedicates his time to creating beautiful landscapes and meaningful stories. “I remember when I first started taking photos. I would get home, load the memory card and take a look at what I just shot. I would have barely 1-2 images I liked and the rest were mistakes. I didn’t get discouraged at all. I knew this was a repetition of practice to become the mother of skill” Jaden recalls. Remember, Just go through the process.

Building on others' ideas is a great source of innovative ideas.

Sometimes people have the missing parts of their idea that need to be mixed with other ideas to really work. The opposite can also be true; sometimes you are the person who can contribute! So listen to others' ideas and try to build something bigger. “Ideas are always flowing to me. I keep notes going on my phone and backup copies to ensure I never lose them. It is every idea I have ever had for upcoming projects or something new to do in my business. The spark of creativity comes to us when we least expect it so always write it down” says Jaden. 

Bathing has long been recognized by people as the ideal place to have good ideas. This is because the bath, in addition to being an activity that we carry out almost automatically, is one of the only times of the day when we only carry out a single activity (we still cannot use cell phones in the bath). Gregg Jaden,one of the most exciting Instagram influencers, has been focusing his efforts to do travel adventure photography and we can now see the result. He is now a popular photographer with many engaged followers on Instagram. He has large sponsorship and works with some of the most prestigious Brands on our planet. 

Gregg Jaden offers some wisdom around this point. “I lost focus via meditation. I find when the mind is too busy, it promotes overthinking. I always make a point to meditate daily to keep my clarity, calm while balancing my nervous system and brain. Just think of it as refueling or recharging. Everyone needs it. You aren’t much good to yourself or the client if you are always running on empty” says Jaden. 

This “loss of focus” is one of the drivers of innovative ideas. In those moments our brain is connected in the free association of ideas. You have the possibility to connect information that does not have a logical correlation automatically.

Innovative ideas do not choose a time or place to appear. You may be stuck in traffic, running around in the park, shopping at the supermarket or like Archimedes getting in the tub and EUREKA! The problem is that with the same speed that ideas come up they go away, that's why it is so important to have somewhere to register. At that point anything goes! A pad of paperis always in your pocket, an application on your cell phone, writing on the walls of your room, etc. Just write it down!

Keep your chin up and be patient to wait for your momentum.