One of the old pastimes, I miss from my college days is freestyling through campus. My friends and I would have freestyling sessions as we walked around. Meandering in and out of buildings and groups of people, rapping about nothing at all.
It was something small, but it helped us to always have new thoughts at the tip of our tongue. To be able to articulate our thoughts quickly, and in a convincing manner, is a true skill when it comes to building businesses.
I've never lost that feeling of freedom when you can simply talk about anything in the world, no judgment, no ridicule...just flow.
When you are in a zone you can tell stories that engage your brain in a way that unlocks your creativity. It's why I believe musicians are probably amazing Chief Innovation Officers, especially freestylers. When you are not being held back by what has been done before, only how you are going to connect the next dots in your sixteen bars, you hit this interesting frame of thought.
You are observing everything and anything for inspiration. You are thinking both in the moment and ahead of where you are right now. You can bend the world to your will with abstract quotables, or you can recite an observation of the pretty girl on the sidewalk.
See when you are innovating, you can get into a similar flow. Where you are attacking the problem both at a 30,000-foot view, but also kneeling down on the ground with a microscope. When you are in "flow" you can make and change worlds in your head - all without judgment of the outside world.
Being willing to look ridiculous because of the ideas you throw out is paramount when you're creating something unique. Whether it be a freestyle verse or a new product. You have to create it in your head before you expose it to the market of which it will be consumed. However, you aren't allowed to be afraid of how it will be received. If you truly want to be innovative, you have to stand up to the market and say, "that didn't hit, well what if I adjusted it this way? Is that better?"
When you are freestyling consistently, you get better at weaving words together back and forth. All of a sudden you are able to say the most clever bars within your friend group because your skills are sharpened through feedback.
The exact same thing happens when you're building a company.