How to Get Ideas from the Books You Read

James Altucher, an American entrepreneur, author, venture capitalist and podcaster, often says that ideas are currency. That means ideas are valuable. Based on his system of generating ideas every day, his ex-wife Claudia Altucher wrote the book, Become an Idea Machine. Since ideas are currency, it’s important to mine them. And a good way to do that is generating them from the books you read.

Getting Started Spotting Ideas

When you are reading a book, take detailed notes. Read each book with a critical eye and never read in a vacuum. It’s also important to connect what you are reading to what you already know about the topic. Make note of any connections you notice. Pay attention to information that is the answer to problems you want to solve or questions you have.

Gathering Ideas

After you have finished reading a book, review your notes. Review your notes at spaced intervals over the next week to give your brain the time it needs to make connections between concepts. Using your detailed notes, pick out what your instincts tell you are great ideas. Every book has a core idea and secondary ideas that support it.

Use the chart below to rank the ideas you picked out from your book notes.