Generate 10 ideas every morning to develop your creativity.

James Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and the best-selling author of 17 books. He uses this exercise to develop his ‘idea muscle’ and his confidence for creativity on demand. James has found that regular practice thinking of ideas is more important than the actual ideas. This exercise helps you move past the part where your brain is trying to protect you from ‘harm’—that is from coming up with an idea that is stupid and embarrassing and could cause you to suffer pain. The way you shut this mechanism off is by forcing the brain to come up with ideas, no matter how bad they may seem.

1. Every morning divide a piece of paper into two columns.
   One column is for the LIST OF IDEAS, the other column is for the LIST OF FIRST STEPS.

2. Write down 10 ideas. You can change the topic every day if you wish.
   For example, 10 ridiculous things I would invent, 10 people I want to be friends with, 10 things I learned yesterday, 10 books I can write, 10 things I can do differently today, 10 ways I can save time, or 10 ways I might try to solve a problem I have.

3. If you can’t come up with 10 ideas, write 20.
   This is the magic trick: If you can’t come up with 10 ideas, you are putting too much pressure on yourself. Perfectionism is the ENEMY of ideas.

4. Write down the first step for each idea.
   You should only write down the first step because you have no idea where that first step will take you. No idea is so big that you can’t take the first step. If the first step seems too hard, make it simpler. Don’t worry if it’s a bad idea, this is all practice.

5. Have fun with this or you won’t do it!
   The more you do it, the easier it will be to come up with ideas.