1. Expose Yourself to Good Input
Good thinkers always prime the pump of ideas. They always look for things to
get
the thinking process started, because what you
put in always impacts what
comes out.
Read books, review trade magazines, listen to tapes, and spend time with good
thinkers. And when something intrigues you—whether it’s someone else’s idea
or the seed of an idea that you’ve come up with yourself—keep
it in front of
you. Put it in writing and keep it somewhere in your
favorite thinking place to
stimulate your thinking.
2. Expose Yourself to Good Thinkers
Spend time with the right people. As I worked on this section and bounced my
ideas off of some key people (so that my thoughts would be stretched), I realized
something about myself. All of the people in my life whom I consider to be close
friends or colleagues are thinkers. Now, I love all people.
I try to be kind to
everyone I meet, and I desire to add value to as
many people as I can through
conferences, books, audio lessons,
etc.
But the people I seek out and choose to
spend time with all challenge me with their thinking and their actions. They are
constantly trying to grow and learn. That’s true of my wife, Margaret, my close
friends, and the executives who run my companies. Every one of them is a good
thinker!
The writer of Proverbs observed that sharp people sharpen one another, just as
iron sharpens iron. If you want to be a sharp thinker, be around sharp people.
