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Eight Entrepreneurs Share Their Unique Sources For "Eureka!" Moments

YEC
POST WRITTEN BY
Expert Panel, Young Entrepreneur Council

Inspiration can strike at any time. Many entrepreneurs are familiar with the experience of having a “Eureka!” moment when an idea, solution or inspiration suddenly appears. Sometimes it may seem as if the ideas come from thin air, but often they actually come from a problem, conversation or even a random observation that may have struck a chord.

No one can choose when inspiration strikes, and brilliance is often gleaned from the most unusual sources. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council share the details of the places, sources and moments that have led them to breakthroughs or just inspired them on their entrepreneurial journeys.

All photos courtesy of YEC members.

1. The Met Cloisters, New York

I’m almost afraid to share this because it’s my quiet space from the hustle and bustle of the city, in the middle of New York. The Met Museum is a well-known source of inspiration for many of us, but there’s a gem that is governed by the museum to the north of Manhattan. Based in Washington Heights, The Met Cloisters is a museum dedicated to European medieval arts and architecture. It has an array of wonderful Gothic and Romanesque artifacts, and its grounds are a haven of peace and tranquility. For a Brit living in New York, it does provide some of the old history that’s rare to find on this side of the Atlantic, and it’s been a place where business ideas have spawned from nowhere. A recent visit delivered an idea that led to a breakthrough in a multimillion-dollar negotiation. - Ismael Wrixen, FE International

2. Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations

I’m a big fan of Stoic philosophy. Recently I’ve been reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. While not quite a pure Stoic book, it has many nuggets of wisdom both in life and business that you can apply to your situation. Whenever I can, I try to draw inspiration from completely non-business sources. When you do this, you’re often experiencing brand-new content rather than rehashed idioms and catchphrases. This leads to a kind of creative merging of both worlds—in this case, Stoic philosophy and business. I would definitely put a dead Roman emperor giving me solid business advice for a company that helps people buy and sell online businesses to be a pretty unusual source. I’m positive, despite Marcus’ wisdom, that the emperor did not see that turn of events coming. - Justin Cooke, Empire Flippers

3. Conferences

The marketing of my SEO agency takes place largely in my appearances and speaking engagements at conferences all over the world. There have been a number of occasions when conferences that have nothing to do with my business per se have yielded incredible insights due to interaction with leaders from completely different industries. Cosmoprof in Las Vegas is a cosmetics industry trade show that I speak at regularly. While delivering addresses on keyword searches and content creation, I have had startling realizations in my own strategy slumps. It would never have occurred to me to employ certain techniques that are used in the beauty industry in my own marketing, but they have been incredibly effective. Going into each experience with an open mind has benefited my business immensely. - Matthew Capala, Alphametic

4. My Mistakes

It never feels good to make a mistake, but some of my most creative ideas have emerged from my failures. From hiring to marketing, I have made my share of mistakes in my businesses. But these mistakes have helped focus my attention like a flashing sign that says: “Do this instead!” The urgency helps me focus my attention and my resources on possible solutions. It helps redefine what I expect and want, and it helps me re-examine my values and goals. More importantly, mistakes have helped me to inspire others. When my employees or business partners see me not only preserve, but also build on, the pieces of my mistakes, they can see that mistakes are building blocks to better ideas. It also gives us a powerful opportunity to brainstorm what could have been done differently. - Shu Saito, Godai Soaps

5. Pitch Competitions

These days, many companies have created a corporate innovation group. These groups do a phenomenal job of collecting all the challenges that their company is facing and putting that information together as a business competition or pitch competition for startups. Just scanning through these competitions gives me a good idea of the readiness/maturity of a company when it comes to artificial intelligence, and I gather use cases that can be built as a product and/or service. In fact, sometimes businesses publicly provide data on platforms like Kaggle that can help any wannabe entrepreneur—initial use cases plus hard-to-find data to quickly build an initial set of features/algorithms. Occasionally, one can win as much as $100,000 in these competitions and literally start a company. - Shilpi Sharma, Kvantum Inc.

6. In The Shower

The moment a groundbreaking solution or idea appears inside your head, it hits like a jolt of lightning. It’s almost like the feeling when you wake from an incredible dream—but sometimes you can’t remember what it was. It’s extremely important as an entrepreneur to place yourself in an environment where you can think clearly, without interruption. Social media, emails, phone calls and employees will all interrupt and prevent these moments from occurring. I have found—and I know this is crazy—that taking some time mid-day to sit in the hot water in my shower, devoid of distractions, has led to some of my most influential and groundbreaking ideas. In New York City it’s difficult to get away, but I would assume the same relaxation and meditation could be found in the wilderness. - Ali Mahvan, Sharebert

7. Children

We had trouble with employee and manager communication as we began to grow and share offices. Having department managers in the same office as their direct reports so they’d be able to discuss projects and day-to-day tasks more easily wasn’t working. Watching my kids play a team game with their friends one day, I noticed a lot of whispering going on between pairs of kids. When I asked later on what was going on they said the kids didn’t want their “captain” knowing what they were talking about until a decision had been made. My Eureka moment was that employees didn’t necessarily want their managers looking over their shoulders all day. Employees were feeling self-conscious—like they were being watched all day. We now have managers share offices and direct reports in their own offices. - Jeff Pitta, Senior Market Advisors

8. While Exercising

So many great business minds, from Mark Zuckerberg to Richard Branson, recommend physical activity to clear your mind and open your thoughts. Zuckerberg is known to go on long jogs and walks, whereas Branson regularly goes kiteboarding. I couldn’t agree with them more. Whether I’m pacing in circles in my living room, cycling around the lake or riding my longboard, I’ve found that doing some type of solo physical activity clears my mind and helps me think creatively. There’s something calming about light, prolonged exercise that forms a connection between the mind and body. It allows your mind to wander and come up with new ideas and solutions to problems that you’ve never thought of. There are few things more therapeutic and productive than a long ride. - Shaun Conrad, My Accounting Course