Ditkoff's Ways To Get Ideas...

Mitch Ditkoff's article, 14 Breakthrough Ways To Get Ideas, is a great eye opener for those who have difficulty formulating an imaginative thought, innovative concept, or in cliche terms, a bright idea. While I did like his usage of quotes and examples for each breakthrough way to get ideas, I still did not feel as if many of these methodologies were all-too breakthrough. In the article, Ditkoff listed fourteen ways to produce (or reproduce, if using Eastern philosophy) an idea. Along with each tip came a quote or example regarding the particular tip. I personally critique three out of the fourteen that he makes:

#5: Fantasize
I had a hard time believing this 'breakthrough way' was a 'breakthrough.' Many people fantasize about something, inevitably giving them an idea at some point in time. Whether it's a daydream that one decides to pursue or a premeditated plan that one decides to put into action, a person will always fantasize or imagine his or her initial idea for something before putting it into action.

#9 Notice and Challenge Existing Patterns And Trends
I agreed right off the bat with Ditkoff's statement about people challenging trends. Often, we as a people tend to follow the societal norms and submit to the typical and run-of-the-mill. However, the people who challenge and create their own patterns and trends are the ones who are creative. The best example of this is with the way people dress. Many may follow the trend, but only one will challenge the stream of monotony and be a jet-setter.

#10 Hang Out With A Diverse Group of People
This was another idea I agreed with Ditkoff about. By hanging out with a diverse group of people, you share different customs and beliefs. This means the sharing of different cultural pastimes including music, entertainment, philosophies, and other aspects of a different lifestyle. This opens people up to newer, broader ideas that can challenge the existing patterns and trends and stand out as an original entity.

I believe that much of the other ideologies that Ditkoff mentioned were not too 'breakthrough,' however, I still enjoyed reading about them and I intend on applying them in my own life. Upon my reading I decided to engage myself in one of the suggested activities after each breakthrough idea. My engagement took me back to Ditkoff's ninth belief:

What trends in the marketplace most intrigues you? In what ways might these trends shift in the coming years—and how might your most inspired idea be in sync with this imagined shift?

The trends in music have always intrigued me, particularly in hip hop music, since that's what I grew up with the longest. In recent years, I have challenged the existing patterns of mainstream music by listening to independent and underground hip hop music. By doing this, I have avoided the monotonous trends that have occurred within the music genre including the 'snap' music of 2006 ,autotune phases of 2008, and the annoying 'jerk' hip hop of 2009 and 2010. I believe in the coming years, just as the previous years, the previous 'mainstream' will fall, due to a lack of popularity and a new trend will make its way into the commercialized music industry. My most inspired ideas would inevitably be in sync with the upcoming shift because, if I want to be involved in directing music videos, I will have to be much more involved with mainstream music than I currently am. Regardless, I still strive to fight the current of mainstream and

 strive to be original in an age where monotony is the social norm.



Dem Franchize Boyz, part of the 'snap' music of 2006 with songs such as 'Lean With It, Rock With It' and 'Oh, I Think They Like Me.'









T- Pain, despite being very talented, has become the poster child for autotune. Many hip hop artists used autotune this year including Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, and Lil Wayne.







New Boyz have become the poster children of the 'Jerk' hip hop music that was popular throughout 2009 and 2010.