Have you heard of the Second Brain concept by Tiago Forte? 🧠
It’s a powerful system for capturing ideas and information the moment they appear, organizing them, and turning them into actionable insights. This process helps you shift from being a passive consumer of information to an active creator who brings ideas to life.
Let’s explore how some of the most successful people manage their ideas, and how you can leverage this strategy to grow your business.
📒 Dozens of Notebooks. Sarah Blakely, Founder of Spanx.
“I write down my ideas because I don’t want to lose them. I think ideas are gifts from the universe.
Every year since the start of Spanx, I’ve had a notebook with me. I have shelves and shelves of them full of ideas, goals, thoughts, sketches, people I’ve met, and my appointments. If I don’t have a notebook with me, I feel lost.”
Sarah shared on Instagram that she filled more than 50 notebooks over 20 years, long before smartphones existed.
💻 Electronic Holding Ground. James Clear, Bestselling Author of Atomic Habits.
“I think you need to have a central holding ground where you just put all the ideas in your life whether it’s from a conversation or a book. For me, that’s Evernote. I have a notebook in Evernote titled articles. Whenever I come across an interesting idea, I dump it into there. Sometimes it’s just a title for an article. Sometimes it’s one sentence. Occasionally I’ll riff for a little while, maybe a couple of paragraphs. But all of that goes in the same folder.”
As James shared on The Unmistakable Creative Podcast, he begins his writing by reviewing hundreds of notes, grouping related ideas together until an article starts to take shape.
📓 A Spiral Notebook. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
“I’m a huge note taker. There’s all these, like, fancy notebooks in the world. Yeah, you don’t want those. You definitely want a spiral notebook. Because one thing that’s important is you can rip pages out frequently, and you also want it to lie flat and open on the table.”
Altman’s approach is fast and messy by design. He shared with David Perell that he never completes a notebook, preferring to tear out pages, spread them out, and work through ideas quickly. On average, he fills an entire spiral notebook every two to three weeks, a testament to the volume of thoughts he captures daily.
📦 Everything in a Box. Twyla Tharp, World-Renowned Choreographer.
“I keep everything in a box. I create a box with a name of a dance. Notebooks, videos, pieces of art etc.”
In her book The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp links this habit to creativity: “Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box.”
An open box signals brains an unfinished task, sparking ongoing thinking and creativity. Over time, these boxes grow richer. Old ones get reopened, inspiring new ideas and creative reuse.
✨ The Lesson?
Your method to capture information and ideas is as unique as you are.
Bill Gates puts it simply: “It doesn’t matter how you record your notes, as long as you do.”
Find the system that works for you and commit to it.
🧠 Building Your Second Brain
Whether you use a notebook, an app, or even a box, all effective idea systems follow four steps:
- Capture. Write down ideas and inspiration the moment they appear.
- Organize. Sort notes by themes, projects, or goals.
- Distill. Review regularly to spot trends, big themes and key insights.
- Express. Turn your notes into actions.
🔴 Your Turn
Where do you keep your ideas?
- 📝 A notebook like Sam Altman?
- 💻 An app like Evernote?
- 🎙️ Voice memos on the go?
This week’s challenge:
Pick an information capturing system and commit to it. At the end of the week, review your collection of notes and ideas. You are likely to discover hidden gems ready to be turned into big wins.
Talk soon,
Natalia
