For example, boiling something down to a six-word summary is one technique to steer your thinking in a new direction. You can see an example of this method in the six-word memoir, created by Smith Magazine and popularized by the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Famous and Obscure Writers.
Six-word memoirs are meaningful self-definitions. But you can try this for other categories such as food, education, love, or your own business. The process of distilling a big idea into a six-word description can often be a catalyst for creativity and new perspectives.
To Get You Started, Here Are Some Examples of Six-Word Memoirs:
- Cadavers played an unexpectedly large part. (Mary Roach)
- Oldest of five. Four degrees. Broke. (Kaitlin Walsh)
- Never should have bought that ring. (Paul Bellows)
- Arty dad, rocker mom, crazy childhood. (Summer Pierre)
- Learning disability, MIT. Never give up. (Joe Keselman)
- Wife: one; Degrees: two; Arrests: seven. (Patrick J. Sauer)
- Fearlessness is the mother of reinvention. (Arianna Huffington)
- Struggled with how the mind works. (Steven Pinker)
