%% ID: 13751966 Updated: 2022-02-24 %% ![](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article0.00998d930354.png) # About Title: [[Other/Obsidian Starter Vault(Second Brain)/Readwise/Articles/I’ve Been Writing Daily for Seven Years- Here’s How I Never Run Out of Ideas]] Author: [[Ayodeji Awosika]] Category: #articles Number of Highlights: ==25== Last Highlighted: *2022-02-19* Readwise URL: https://readwise.io/bookreview/13751966 Source URL: https://medium.com/writers-blokke/ive-been-writing-daily-for-seven-years-here-s-how-i-never-run-out-of-ideas-dc1cd86050d9 # Highlights Aspiring writers act as if I came out of the womb knowing how to write well.I worked my ass off for seven years. ^289564271 --- many writers will tell me they love this technique but they won’t use it — even some of the students in my blogging course. ^289564272 --- Write down ten ideas for blog post headlines every day. ^289564273 --- To this day, only two or three of the headline ideas are good. Only one in a handful of sessions are great. ^289564274 --- A few have become the seeds for legendary viral posts that built my career. But I never knew when the greatest ideas would come. I just worked at them every day ^289564275 --- I stole the idea technique from James Altucher. I steal stuff from people all the time. You’ve probably heard the concept of stealing like an artist. I stole that too. ^289564276 --- Most people try way too hard to be original. People who try to be original never get anything done. ^289564277 --- you’re not so smart and creative that you have an idea that no one else has thought of before. ^289564278 --- Of course, there are anomalies, but you’re probably not one of them. Sorry. ^289564279 --- Learn how to stand on the shoulders of giants, borrow from timeless wisdom, and draw from a variety of sources to come up with ideas of your own ^289564280 --- I’m always looking for a way to combine and remix source material into something that’s unique because of the way I combined and remixed it. ^289564281 --- Practice your craft while living said life, and you’ll realize everything is material ^289564282 --- it’s always important to keep a pen and paper handy. You never know when an idea will strike. Or where. ^289564283 --- You’ll take yourself seriously as an artist, an entrepreneur, a career ascender — anyone who needs ideas as currency — when you realize that every second of your life is a chance to observe and draw insight. ^289564284 --- “Nothing bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.” ^289564285 --- the lows are usually more compelling because there are few things more authentic than feeling like crap. ^289564286 --- Consume AND Create ^289564287 --- sometimes being lazy makes you more creative. ^289564288 --- It’s a slippery slope for sure. But you can find great ideas in moments where you’re casually consuming instead of boldly creating. ^289564289 --- Go ahead and blow a whole day reading a novel. Visit a museum and wander around for a while. Spend 12 hours straight watching interesting YouTube videos and documentaries. ^289564290 --- writing suffers when I don’t consume enough. ^289564291 --- Again, it’s easy to fall into the trap of constant consumption without creating anything or generating legitimate ideas, which leads me to my next point. ^289564292 --- Stop being ^289564293 --- Stop being lazy. ^289564294 --- Come up with ideas every single day.Focus on your craft every single day.“Writer’s block is a phony, made up, b.s. excuse for not doing your work.” — Jerry Seinfield ^289564295