FOUR STEPS TO CAPTURE YOUR IDEAS

Don't Let Them Get Away

Do you need a good idea or solution to a problem? Powerful ideas, life-changing ideas, income generating ideas, relationship building ideas - most ideas - come in very small “thought-packages”. 

I love this concept. It’s so full of wisdom, so easy to reach. We all can have the wonderful ideas that are just floating around us. That's why a fleeting thought or an interesting idea has to be captured. 

Have you ever had a thought that you just enjoyed for the moment as a good idea, then later seen someone else implement that idea with great success? And you thought….. “Hey, that was my idea!”  Yeah, but you didn’t capture it and make it your own.

Or more to my point, did you ever ACT on a thought? You talked about it, wrote it down and then did something with it? After you captured it and acted on it you found out it was God sent! It can be ever so small but when it is captured, that small seed can become a valuable idea.  

There are all kinds of ideas worth considering. It could be to complete a small project or some errands, to start or finish a degree, to develop a ministry, to write a book, heal a relationship or start a business.  Years ago someone I know was reading a magazine article about a business. He captured that idea and after much research he wrote a business plan and then launched it. That idea became a thriving and lucrative business.  He started it at 43 years old. Age is not a barrier to capturing ideas. The bigger barrier to great ideas is actually capturing them. It could have remained just a magazine article but because he captured the thought it became a profitable business.

In my favorite book, speaking of the Kingdom of God, Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed that became a huge tree (Luke 13:18-19). That tiny weeny seed became a haven wherein the birds could build their homes. But notice, something had to be done with the tiny weeny seed. It had to be planted.

Is God downloading ideas to you that you are throwing away because of negative thoughts like: I'm too old or too young, it's never been done like that, they won't receive me or it won’t work. 

What ideas are you neglecting? Some good ideas could help or heal our relationships but we think it won’t work because is just a small adjustment. Small and big ideas can be captured with what I call the SWPD PROCESS - 4 steps to capture your ideas:

1.  SPEAK IT - Give voice to it
2.  WRITE IT - Write a goal, even as small as a to do list
3.  PLAN IT - Plan how you’re going to accomplish it
4.  DATE IT - Give it a start date and a deadline 

Using the SWPD PROCESS you can capture the idea and grow it by taking action. As I read further in that Luke passage, there was a woman who was bent over with an illness for 18 years and Jesus called her to himself and declared "woman thou art loosed" and my mind went to the T.D. Jake's movement “Woman Thou Art Loosed”. It came to him as a thought when he had a little church in West Virginia, then it became a Sunday school lesson, then because it was received so well it grew to a women's bible study. 

That bible study grew and eventually propelled him into a world-renowned preacher who has spoken to presidents. More than that, what has his ministry done in the lives of many women and men? We can definitely say it's done more than if he had let it be just another sermon idea that he didn't capture and develop.

I encourage you today to capture that thought through the SWPD process and develop that idea by acting out that process. God can use it for your destiny and more than that; it can help someone else's destiny to unfold. In order to transform a thought to a manifestation:

1. RECOGNIZE THE THOUGHT Rapid firing, fleeting thoughts have to be respected as thought-packages.  Slow down, quiet yourself and HEAR what you are thinking.  It sometimes feels like an impression or hunch.
2. VALUE THE POWER OF AN IDEA Ideas are the seeds of great inventions; they are the beginning of great transformations (even in relationships)
3. CAPTURE THE IDEA through the SWPD PROCESS Don’t miss it just because it’s small like a mustard seed. The Kingdom of God began small. (Luke 13:18-19)
4. ACTIVATE IT  Do something to develop the idea. A magazine article became a business. “WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED” a Sunday school lesson became a movement (T.D. Jakes)

What ideas do you need to nail down and make a reality? 

What are some ideas you have captured to become something tangible and lasting?

We would love it if you'd share ideas in the comments on the blog site.