Awake at the Wheel
Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world)
By: Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff
Published: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 9781600372957
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Ingram Pub Services
Everything begins with an idea writes Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff in his thought provoking book Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world). Part parable, part discussion of creative thinking, the book is an enlightening tour of the landscape of idea creation and development.
Mitchell Ditkoff examines the process of idea creation, and the locations in the mind from whence those creative thoughts originate. Whether the ideas spring forth from the rational thought process or from the subconscious mind, a concept must be valued, developed further, and then turned into a fully developed form. The author believes that all too often, ideas are dismissed by their creator long before they have the opportunity to be examined by others. Creative thinking requires that all ideas receive consideration, but that also they must be formulated in a way that articulates their value to others.
Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff (photo left) uses the clever device of translating cave art into a parable for the invention of the wheel. The caveman Og has the idea of the wheel find him, and as a result, he is obsessed with the idea of creation. Unable to fully articulate his wheel idea to the rest of the cave community, Og journeys outward for advice, and inward for further insights. Like all good parables, the truths reveal themselves at many levels from a simple narrative, to insights into the creative thinking process, to the very nature of thought and idea creation themselves.
The creative thinking successes and failures of Og are discussed in the remainder of the book, in the form of creative thinking techniques. Moving beyond mainstream brainstorming session, the author describes numerous ways to jump start your own creative thinking machinery. The author points out that not all of the techniques presented for consideration are for everyone, and that is a powerful insight as well. Mitchell Ditkoff understands that people vary in their thought creation impulses, and a powerful technique for one person may be of little value to another individual.
For me, the power of the book is the overall embrace of creative thinking as a way of life. The very act of giving people permission to daydream, think outside the cave, and to formulate concepts beyond the here and now, is empowering for everyone. Most people in organizations large and small, and in their daily lives, have experienced the rejection and ridicule of their new ideas. As a result, the creative process within them was stifled or snuffed out forever.
Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff provides the necessary framework for taking new ideas and turning them into workable principles, prototypes, and systems. The nuts and bolts of creative thinking are essential for idea originators to articulate their ideas to others around them. Even more important than the opinions of others, is the acceptance that ideas can arrive unexpected for the individual. Taking ownership of one's own thoughts and creativity gives a person the freedom to grow and develop those ideas into products, services, and systems that can help others live better lives.
I highly recommend the best selling Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world) by Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff for anyone seeking new ideas and the techniques for their development and manifestation. For free thinkers everywhere, and for brain storming facilitation within organizations, the methods presented are practical and useful, as well as empowering for one's own life.
Read Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling (in an uphill world) by Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff, and let the inspiration reach out and grab you. Treat those concepts as gifts, nurture those ideas like children, and watch as they grow into action.
