arranged, the individual “nails” of this book are indispensable tools for constructing your most creative work—and your best life. The ideas I share allow you to cut through the fog, use your resources to create new structures, and break the status quo. These ideas are both the foundation and the results of any endeavor. Together, nail-by-nail, you and I will examine the structure of success, back to its logical source. Every method in this book helps you construct “your next big thing.” Our examination of your inner life will change your perspective forever.
Nail
/nāl/
noun
A small metal spike with a broadened flat head, driven typically into wood with a hammer to join things together or to serve as a peg or hook.
What Is a “Next Big Thing”?
Before you can understand how to develop your “next big thing,” I should first clarify what attributes make something a truly “next big thing.” We will use those attributes (or values) as a guide or checklist when considering different proposals. A real “next big thing” includes all or some of the following features:
Meaning/Value
A real “next big thing” costs time, energy, and attention. It becomes an integral part of its founder’s life, and is closely connected to a team, an environment, customers, and partners. Questioning the meaning and value of the “next big thing” opens the dialogue about the conviction (the “why”), and the vision that form its foundation. In any company, the emotional appeal of a project (the “BIG” in “next big thing”) is missing unless there are enduring values and “real” meaning.
Fairness
Right is right, and wrong is wrong. A real “next big thing” must consider the principles of morality and ethics—whether it’s legal, fair, and honest.
Problem-Solving
Big problems set the stage for big ideas. How big is the question that will be answered? How big is the problem that will be solved? Your next big problem will open up a market that has big potential.
Scalability
A true “next big thing” is always bigger than the single brain behind it. Can the idea really scale, function, and grow, even without the founder standing next to it? Scaling-up creates exponential growth and paves the way for long journeys.
Optimized Risk
The market rewards risk and brilliance. A smart “next big thing” generates profits inversely proportional to the risk. A true “next big thing” is smart, doesn’t financially paralyze you, and clearly tells you when to collect your chips and leave the table.
The System Behind the Chapters
Read the table of contents like a blueprint. It is a set of systematic building instructions for successfully constructing your next big idea. An important note: only one of the five chapters deals with the brainstorming process. Of course, your brainstormed idea sets the foundation of your “next big thing,” but you need all the other chapters to build on that foundation. Imagine that you are building a house:
1 The first chapter, with its ten thoughts on creativity, deals with the mechanics behind your vision. There’s no house yet—just a plot and a vision. The more clearly defined your vision is, the more likely your house will fulfill you in every detail. It is an art to have visions, and not everyone can see them.
2 The second chapter presents ten practical tools for brainstorming and finding ideas to help you design your house. You will create the plans and technical drawings, evaluate all the material requirements, and create the (theoretical) foundation of your house.
3 The third chapter provides ten tools for evaluating ideas: your construction plans will be checked by “structural engineers” with tests on safety, stability, durability, efficiency, and common sense. If your plans pass our inspection, your house will be structurally sound.
4The fourth chapter introduces ten success-focused ideas for powerful implementation. It will guide you through the construction phase of your house. You will learn how to lay the foundation and set the first bricks so that your vision can become reality.
5The fifth chapter provides ten thoughts on world-class leadership that will transform you from simple homeowner into full-blown winner in the game of the best version of your life. Your vision has been realized, and your plans fulfilled: your house is standing and it’s filled with great people who inspire you. Now the task is about having a household that not only works, but is also fun and fulfilling, bringing many happy moments to you and everyone else involved.
Okay, you may be thinking: “But I’m not creative at all!” An important thought before we go out on the thin ice of creativity together: Creativity is not so much a skill. It’s an attitude, and ultimately an evaluation made by the beholder. And as an evaluation, creativity comes after the creation.
An artist will throw four shades of yellow on a canvas and sell the thing for ten million dollars. Why? Because someone decided it was unbelievably creative. Which came first, the creation or that evaluation?
Let’s follow this train of thought for a moment. What would happen if we disregarded our nervousness and uncertainty about our own creativity, and only concentrated on the one element of the creative process that we can control, our action? So, in this chapter, we’ll disassemble creativity and—from now on—focus only on the nails we can sink.
The following ten thoughts about creativity are actionable and fool-proof, contrarily to whatever you might hear from art gallery small talk. Start before you’re ready! Creativity can only be confirmed after you’ve made the first brush stroke. Claim your creativity by just getting started! To believe in your gift, your talent, the artistry of your next really great idea—that is the true creativity, and that’s what will uncover your genius. Just between us: creativity is, above all, a synonym for courage. Let’s walk out onto the thin ice together! Let me help you grab hold of your courage and show the world your art—one step at a time!
1. Where Are Your Creative Ideas Coming From?
We’d made it! We (my three best friends and co-founders, Flo, David, Siamak—and I) were beaming: our entrepreneurial dream had come true! One hour before our fourth NEONSPLASH–Paint-Party® event, more than 5,000 guests lined up outside the door, waiting to be let into the sold-out concert hall. They came to dance to electronic music and get hit with neon paint balls. Something that, at the time, might have seemed unimaginable, and even offensive, became my first really successful business idea.
Our business idea worked, and it worked really well. More than 500,000 people have visited us to date in more than 60 cities throughout Europe. And they would readily agree. “The best party of my life,” is what most say after a NEONSPLASH–Paint-Party®.
I’m often asked how we got the idea.
