This sounds simple enough, but most people do anything to avoid it. Remembering that an idea is a combination of elements, you have to have elements before you can combine them. Precious hours are spent in wool gathering which should be spent in material gathering. Valuable time is frittered away while people in search of ideas sit around waiting for an inspiration. When they do this they are trying to take the fourth step without taking the three that must go before. It is absolutely essential to take the first step first, and the first step is to gather your raw material. There is no substitute for this.
There are two kinds of material to collect—the specific and the general. The specific kind concerns the object or situation about which you want an idea. It involves finding out everything you can about its purposes, uses, materials, operation, construction, the people concerned with it, and so on. We shall see later how this is done.
The other kind of material to be gathered is general. Always keep in mind that an idea is a new combination of elements. The more elements you have stored away, the more the chances are for producing new and striking combinations of ideas. You can combine your specific knowledge about objects and people with your general knowledge of life and affairs. This second, general type of material gathering does not have to be done for your specific idea. It is in your head already, as a result of your alertness and intelligent interest in the world around you. This is what was indicated previously in connection with experience and individuality. These are cultivated as a continuous life process, but you should be aware of what there is in that head of yours, and make use of it in new and different ways beyond those for which they may have been originally intended.
I remember that some time ago I was listening to someone discuss, of all things, Julius Caesar’s military tactics. I suppose I didn’t seem very intelligent or responsive, as he exclaimed rather impatiently, “Good Lord, you did read Caesar’s Gallic Wars, didn’t you?” I had to admit I had suffered through a year of them in my Latin course, but to me they were nothing more than grammar lessons. That they might have any use as historical facts never even entered my head.
Let us consider now some of the aspects of gathering specific material. This is done in various ways, through interviews, reading, and study of what competitive businesses are doing or have done.
If you are going to use the idea for advertising, promotion, propaganda or the like, you are certainly not going to play up any of the faults or weaknesses of the product or cause. However, you make notes of everything good and bad you can say about the subject, as you must never deceive yourself. Even if you do not use the faults in your final presentation, you must be aware of them and be able to overcome them. Each note should be made on a separate card, the popular 3×5 inch size being the best for the purpose. This will be discussed in more detail later, under the heading of research.
When you have the needed information together all in one place, it is little use to you for it will be a confused, unorganized mass of facts. It therefore becomes necessary to classify it.