No, I’m not going to wax philosophical, or debate religion. And I am not referring to clients – although it wouldn’t be much of a stretch…

What I do want to talk about, though, is how inspiration can strike anytime…and - pardon the cliché - especially when you least expect it.

One night recently, while in bed reading one of my NY Times Bestsellers, I came across this, “Remembrance was a Buddhist philosopher’s trick. Rather than asking [your] mind to search for a solution to a potentially impossible challenge, [you] ask [your] mind simply to remember it. The presupposition that one once knew the answer created the mindset that the answer must exist…thus eliminating the crippling conception of hopelessness.”

Now, I have no idea if this little “trick” is, in fact, based on a Buddhist philosopher (and yes, I did do a brief search online, to no avail), but my initial thought was that this would be a great technique for solving problems of any type…even creative ones.

Since I first read that quote, I’ve had numerous opportunities to put it to the test. I’ve used the “remembrance” technique to help determine how to bid on a project I hadn’t done before. I also used it to help me come up with concepts for a logo that I was struggling with – I came up with one concept easily, but I needed two more. So rather than sitting there, staring at my blank sketchbook, wondering what the heck I was going to do for those other two concepts, I decided that I had just forgotten what the other two concepts were going to be, and all I needed to do was to remember them!

Now, I’d be lying if I said that the answers came to me immediately, but once I changed how I was approaching the problem, the next time I sat down with my sketchbook, the ideas just flowed. And I was able to come up with two more concepts to present to my client.

I even used the remembrance trick to help me “remember” a layout concept for a website design I was recently working on. I’d come up with three design concepts, but I wasn’t happy with one of them – it was very similar to one of the other versions. Right around that time, I had an appointment to get to, and was forced to step away from the computer, allowing me to focus on the problem with only my head. Again, I changed how I was viewing the problem, and tried to just remember a better design solution. By the time I reached my destination, I was able to sketch out a new website layout on a piece of scrap paper I found in my purse (okay, if you really must know, it was the back of my grocery list…but I digress.)

So on three separate occasions, I was able to put this Buddhist philosopher’s trick to the test, and it worked. In fact, anytime I get stuck on something now, I use this technique before anything else.

Sometimes, all it takes is a little memory jog to clear our heads of those Angels and Demons, and get back to business.

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics