Eureka!

"Eureka!"   Some of you would think that I needed a vacuum cleaner (ok, not many of you I hope!).   Others would know my exclamation was because I had just solved a major problem.  That I had just been enlightened with a Big Idea.   Eureka in this context is a word used by Archimedes, a Greek scientist who exclaimed the word when he had resolved a problem.  He is also famous for the quote,   "Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." Archimedes     Ahhh, the Greeks...yogurt, salad and Archimedes.  There was a while there in history that the Greeks had most of the worlds big ideas.  It was a nation of scholars, thinkers, artists, scientists and philosophers.   Thinking is a lost art.    Most people want to be told what to do and what to think.    Big Ideas come from spending time in thought.  Spending time meditating and reflecting on a problem or objective until the flash of brilliance comes.  Creation of ideas can be spontaneous, but most come from a process.  A combination of sources that coalesce when concentration is added.   5 Ways To Have A Eureka Moment;   Intellect - Collect the data on a challenge, problem or objective.  Crunch the numbers.  On the other side of that empirical analysis and answer will come forth.  Information drives the intellect.  Reading, studying and observation provides helps us deduce an answer.  Many ideas are "offspring" of what we know and what we have learned.   Instinct - Following your gut.  That inner pull that says this is the way to go.  You can't always rationalize it as it sometimes goes against the grain of conventional wisdom or what your intellect says is the proper course.  Many great innovations have come when people trusted their instincts.   Intuition - First cousin to instinct.  It is usually in flashes of revelation that create the same type of gut prompting as instinct.  Webster defines it as "a natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something without any proof or evidence : a feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why".   Inspiration - Being compelled to act based on outside influences or an internal "spark" that pushes you to a higher level of thought and action.  Seeing others achieve or hearing the right words or music that transfers the active emotions of dreaming, aspirations and a "I can do this" spirit.  When you are inspired, your mind is more open and alert to the ideas that are all around you...and you see them!   Imagination - .We live in a world of the senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.  The imagination is not bound or governed by the sensory.  It can transcend them and take you to a place that your present circumstances say can't happen.  Close your eyes and see yourself flying around the room.  Pretending to fly is a child's game?  Ask the Wright Brothers or Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla...and SpaceX).  Your imagination is transformative and full of big ideas!   No matter which of these you use, there is always a solution for your challenge, a Big Idea to help you achieve your goals and dreams.  You have to dedicate time and energy to focusing until that moment comes when you can exclaim...    Eureka!   Until tomorrow, I wish you Money, Power, Success!