How to Get Ideas

By: Jack Foster

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Written by Jack Foster, a creative director for various advertising agencies with more than 40 years experience, How to Get Ideas (over 90,000 copies sold and translated into 15 languages) is a fun, accessible, and practical guide that takes the mystery and confusion out of developing new ideas.

©2007 Jack Foster (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"How to Get Ideas answers the basic questions of where do ideas come from, why do some people get so many of them, and is there some secret technique to getting more of them. [The book] answers these questions and demonstrates that any reader, regardless of age or skill, employment or training, can come up with more ideas, faster and easier than ever before in his or her life. Author Jack Foster shows how to condition the mind and become 'idea-prone'; how to make the child within us and our sense of humor work for us; how to develop our curiosity, visualize our goals, rethinking our thinking, combine different ideas, and overcome our fear of rejection." (Midwest Book Review)
"Quite simply, the best book on creativity I have ever seen." (Scientific American)

A creativity spark

I highly recommend this book, I’ll be referencing it for years to come. To any person, whether you think you’re a creative or not, this book is a MUST READ!

Fun Listen

Would you listen to How to Get Ideas again? Why?

This was a fun book to listen to. Narrator Johnny Heller sounds like the crusty, old ad man Foster portrays himself in the book.

Foster gives good tips on how to develop ideas and then tells stories of how those ideas worked for him while developing advertising as well as many other well-known American idea people such as Ford, Edison, and Jobs.

If you struggle developing ideas, this is a great short book to get you started. This includes an field where you need to be creativity such as a parent, a manager, a lawyer, a writer, a student, the list goes on. Every field needs people who think. This book will help you get started.

Inspirational

What made the experience of listening to How to Get Ideas the most enjoyable?

I listen on my commute to and from work on my bike. I can actually apply a few of his idea making techniques that very day!

What did you like best about this story?

The quotes! I love quotes! He has them in the beginning of every chapter.

Which character – as performed by Johnny Heller – was your favorite?

Idk

What insight do you think you’ll apply from How to Get Ideas?

Too many to write. He affirmed many strategies that I already use, which was interesting to me.

Any additional comments?

I am a psychotherapist, not a sales or marketing person, and I found this extremely useful and applicable to many of the situations clients explain as "stuck" or "in rut." I highly recommend it. Very upbeat !

Great Audio Book

This is a great book that will put you on the right track to coming up with ideas. Not only is this book about ideas its also about how to live a more exciting life. The things mentioned may seem obvious but if its not pointed out in the way it is in this book then it will take you a long time to find out yourself.

Enjoyed the way the book was read, plenty of examples and scenarios from the author's life on how to come up with ideas.

Useful knowledge you can put into practice.

Would you listen to How to Get Ideas again? Why?

This is a book with many useful ways to change your thought processes for idea thinking. Slow at first, but engaging toward the end.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

There are more than a couple of good finishing points in this book. Worth the wait.

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

The reading is well paced not to slow, easy to follow.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from How to Get Ideas?

The main point I retained from this book was "change your routine, take a risk" People, speaking of myself are prone by human nature to fall into a routine. I had never considered just a simple change up in my trip to work would engage my creative thought.

Any additional comments?

This book will join the few I consider entertaining and good reference material.

Very helpful

As a writer, I listen to this book every once in a while, when I fell stuck on a particular problem, and I always seem to get ideas while listening to it. It's just a tad repetitive; I feel like it could have been a shorter book, but still useful. The narrator has an energetic tone that fits the book perfectly.

Good but nothing new

It is more of "get motivated to find ideas" than "How to get ideas". The writer recycles general ideas such as "keep looking", "think laterally", "never stop", "use brain storming" to get you motivated to find ideas rather than describes a new methodology to get creative ideas. Books by Edward de Bono and Michael Michalko are better at putting on a methodology for creative thinking and idea generating.

If you’re in the Creative Industry

Great book, not too many books like this out there. Makes you see the science of ideas and the structure for practical use. Great stuff here!

Motivating

This book deals with how to motivate yourself and be persistant. These two qualities combined with few more strategies are the elixir to ideas. The autjor shares quotes, stories and anecdotal notes which is interesting to listen to as well as encouraging.

A Pretty Good Book on a Timeless Subject.

If you could sum up How to Get Ideas in three words, what would they be?

Ideas are everywhere.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How to Get Ideas?

I especially appreciated the real world examples given in the book. This author writes from his experience...not just from academia.