The goal of any new idea is to survive and ultimately become an essential necessity of life. Consider the experience of gravity as an idea that happened to survive its early conditions and which grew to become the core substance that glues the material universe. Plants are another example of an essential platform upon which other life can exist and flourish. Without plants, humans and animals cannot survive. Without humans, animals and plants would probably thrive! Go figure. Maybe there is something to be drawn from the word “planet”, perhaps a net of plants?.
Now consider the internet. Less than a century since its inception, we are already deeply dependent on the web. Without the internet, modern society would crumble. Recently, a friend of mine moved into a new house and had to wait a week before he had internet installed in his home. As a business owner of an internet-based company, he was distraught and was on a constant look out for internet connection. The absence of easy access to the web completely disrupted his day to day operations. Internet wins.
The goal of any practical idea is to become second nature such that it becomes the invisible mold of our daily experience. Google tests new ideas against what they call the Toothbrush Test which asserts the question: would this product become a daily necessity (like a toothbrush)? Search, Gmail, Google News, and Google+ are examples of ideas that passed the Toothbrush Test.
While it seems ambitious to try to build an idea that becomes second nature, one can experience and feel it directly everyday. Lets return to gravity. Consider gravity as something you can taste and feel rather than being a passive bystander. Even preceding gravity, feel your own body. Feel what it feels like to have a human body. The greatest invention humanity has discovered is his own body. Da Vinci and other Renaissance luminaries adored the human anatomy as a sophisticated and complex subject that only master painters and sculptors could accurately portray through their art. Buddhists actively practice mindfulness to bring their awareness to the presence of the body, particularly through the breath.
To enhance the expression of a new idea, try to experience its essential nature through the 5 senses. In other words, practice mindfulness and empathy and use the full capabilities of the human body to understand the experience rather than being limited to the rational mind. The intellectual reasoning of what will get an idea to succeed is just a different aspect of the creative process. To think outside the box, practice mindful breathing, be radically expressive with your ideas, and allow your imagination to surprise you. Innovation is in your nature.