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Home » Richard St John: 4 Simple Ways to Have a Great Idea at TED (Transcript)

Richard St John: 4 Simple Ways to Have a Great Idea at TED (Transcript)

Richard St. John

Watch, listen and read the full transcript of success coach Richard St John’s presentation: 4 Simple Ways to Have a Great Idea at TED Conference.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here:  4 simple ways to have a great idea by Richard St John at TED conference

 

Richard St John – Success analyst

Hello TEDsters! This is actually my third TED three-minute talk and it’s great to be able to share my research. But you know, being known as the three-minute guy is not always a good thing.

Now TED is all about ideas worth spreading. But many people think I could never have an idea worth spreading. I’m not creative or artsy or a genius. Well, the good news is anyone can have super ideas. And the interesting thing is that many great ideas come when people do surprisingly simple things. So let’s look at four simple ways to have super ideas.

One is to have a problem, because ideas are solutions to everyday problems. Richard Branson told me he had a problem. He was stranded in the airport after his flight to Puerto Rico was cancelled. And to solve the problem he got on the phone, called around, chartered a plane, sold tickets to the other stranded passengers, and actually ended up making a profit. The light went on. I could start an airline and the idea for Virgin Atlantic was born.

Sam Smith had a problem. He was really heartbroken after his lover left him. And then he thought, ‘well to get over it, I’ll write about it’. The light went on and the idea for a song called ‘Stay with me’ was born. It went on to win four Grammy awards and Song of the Year. So Sam went from very heartbroken to very happy and the idea solved his problem.

Number 2: Listen.