The Secret to Coming up with A Great Idea

I don't know what to write about.

The question I'm asked regularly is: where do you come up with all those ideas and stories for your speeches?"

I find them in what I read, and I read a lot. When I'm not writing, I'm reading.  The Washington Post. Time. Business Week. The Wall Street Journal. USA Today. People (if it's free). Reader's Digest. Sports Illustrated. The New York Times. The Bible. Any blog on management, motivation or writing. Presidential speeches.

When I find something interesting, something that strikes me, I save it. I have 3-inch 3-ring binders marked "Anecdotes" ... volume 6 is right there for the taking.  Sometimes it's a cartoon or an ad that strikes me. Other times (many, many, most other times), it's column three on the front page of the WSJ.  Good writing and very clever while doing it. 

Once you've got a folder or a file filled with clippings, you'll be surprised how flipping through those can trigger an idea.

I look for parallels. A story about a rock becomes a metaphor for a management challenge.

If you're a thoughtful reader, that's a great start to becoming a thoughtful writer. By the way, all of this is on-line and most of it is absolutely free. The sweat equity, on the other hand, is yours and yours alone.

Where do you find your ideas?