The Simple Truth About Million Dollar Business Ideas
When we hear of million dollar business ideas, we often hear of the proverbial light bulb over the head or eureka moment as the catalyst to creativity. Scientists have recently mapped the part of the brain where the "Aha" effect takes place. In less than .3 milliseconds, the intensified neural activity triggers the proverbial light bulb.
However, million dollar ideas aren't the stuff of MBA problem solving. Science knows the creative spark is a separate cognitive process from the day-to-day mundane problem solving skills used in business. The brain is searching more for a pattern or solving a puzzle as opposed to linear thinking that often accompanies the problem solving nature of business.
Contrary to popular myth, the breakthrough idea is not a single eureka event but more a series of known events happening before and after the big "Aha." These events occur as follows: the receptive or preparation stage, the incubation stage, the "Aha" effect, and the verification stage.
The Receptive Stage
Before the eureka moment, the mind must be open to new ideas. At this stage of the creative cycle, it's a matter of generating a partial puzzle. The foundation for the million dollar idea can be a yearning for more or something better.
Current vocation wisdom says don't follow the path of your family but forge your own career. Adam's family was actively involved in the skating business. You could say it was following convention that led to Roger Adams frustration into a career as a clinical psychologist. "I guess the reason I got into psychology at one point I thought I was going to save the world. I did that for 20 plus years and thought there had to be more out there," says Adams. A mid-career crisis and a divorce following a 23 year marriage had set the trigger in Roger's brain to look for something more.
Mercia Tapping wanted something better in her life and went as far as defining what that better way of life would look like. In 1998, Tapping wasn't necessarily looking for the million dollar idea. Mercia's motivation was to find a business without the rigors of travel from management consulting. "I wanted my 2nd marriage to work and I was highly motivated to find a business that would keep me home more," recalls Mercia. The second partial piece of the puzzle was having a business that required building a team instead of the solo practitioner path.
It helps to have a clear distinction of what you want and don't want in forming a new business but sometimes a foggy notion of wanting more can serve the preparation stage as Divine Diamond.com's Fox discovered. For the New York freelance writer, the long hours in front of her computer took its toll on her back. Ruta's doctor urged her to find another way to earn a living. Ruta spent months praying with no specific idea or business in mind.
The Incubation Stage
Once the mind is receptive and prepared to accept new ideas, the subconscious takes over. And the waiting period begins. The incubation period takes it's own time line as Ruta Fox discovered when she waited months for another way to earn a living. The Heely's founder knew something better was out there for the skating world. It just required the laid-back beach house environment to discover it. Tapping's allergy business occurred after her own trials and tribulations as a consumer using and testing various allergy products.
When the mind is prepared and has had a chance to slowly ruminate over the puzzle then the eureka moment can occur. But having a million dollar business idea versus a good idea requires verification.