Preview
  • How to Get Ideas

  • By: Jack Foster
  • Narrated by: Johnny Heller
  • Length: 3 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (270 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

How to Get Ideas

By: Jack Foster
Narrated by: Johnny Heller
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.95

Buy for $16.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Written by Jack Foster, a creative director for various advertising agencies with more than 40 years experience, How to Get Ideas (over 90,000 copies sold and translated into 15 languages) is a fun, accessible, and practical guide that takes the mystery and confusion out of developing new ideas.
©2007 Jack Foster (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"How to Get Ideas answers the basic questions of where do ideas come from, why do some people get so many of them, and is there some secret technique to getting more of them. [The book] answers these questions and demonstrates that any reader, regardless of age or skill, employment or training, can come up with more ideas, faster and easier than ever before in his or her life. Author Jack Foster shows how to condition the mind and become 'idea-prone'; how to make the child within us and our sense of humor work for us; how to develop our curiosity, visualize our goals, rethinking our thinking, combine different ideas, and overcome our fear of rejection." (Midwest Book Review)
"Quite simply, the best book on creativity I have ever seen." (Scientific American)

What listeners say about How to Get Ideas

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    129
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    41
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    117
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    61
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun Listen

Would you listen to How to Get Ideas again? Why?

This was a fun book to listen to. Narrator Johnny Heller sounds like the crusty, old ad man Foster portrays himself in the book.

Foster gives good tips on how to develop ideas and then tells stories of how those ideas worked for him while developing advertising as well as many other well-known American idea people such as Ford, Edison, and Jobs.

If you struggle developing ideas, this is a great short book to get you started. This includes an field where you need to be creativity such as a parent, a manager, a lawyer, a writer, a student, the list goes on. Every field needs people who think. This book will help you get started.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A creativity spark

I highly recommend this book, I’ll be referencing it for years to come. To any person, whether you think you’re a creative or not, this book is a MUST READ!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational

What made the experience of listening to How to Get Ideas the most enjoyable?

I listen on my commute to and from work on my bike. I can actually apply a few of his idea making techniques that very day!

What did you like best about this story?

The quotes! I love quotes! He has them in the beginning of every chapter.

Which character – as performed by Johnny Heller – was your favorite?

Idk

What insight do you think you’ll apply from How to Get Ideas?

Too many to write. He affirmed many strategies that I already use, which was interesting to me.

Any additional comments?

I am a psychotherapist, not a sales or marketing person, and I found this extremely useful and applicable to many of the situations clients explain as "stuck" or "in rut." I highly recommend it. Very upbeat !

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Audio Book

This is a great book that will put you on the right track to coming up with ideas. Not only is this book about ideas its also about how to live a more exciting life. The things mentioned may seem obvious but if its not pointed out in the way it is in this book then it will take you a long time to find out yourself.

Enjoyed the way the book was read, plenty of examples and scenarios from the author's life on how to come up with ideas.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Useful knowledge you can put into practice.

Would you listen to How to Get Ideas again? Why?

This is a book with many useful ways to change your thought processes for idea thinking. Slow at first, but engaging toward the end.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

There are more than a couple of good finishing points in this book. Worth the wait.

What about Johnny Heller’s performance did you like?

The reading is well paced not to slow, easy to follow.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from How to Get Ideas?

The main point I retained from this book was "change your routine, take a risk" People, speaking of myself are prone by human nature to fall into a routine. I had never considered just a simple change up in my trip to work would engage my creative thought.

Any additional comments?

This book will join the few I consider entertaining and good reference material.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If you’re in the Creative Industry

Great book, not too many books like this out there. Makes you see the science of ideas and the structure for practical use. Great stuff here!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Motivating

This book deals with how to motivate yourself and be persistant. These two qualities combined with few more strategies are the elixir to ideas. The autjor shares quotes, stories and anecdotal notes which is interesting to listen to as well as encouraging.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Pretty Good Book on a Timeless Subject.

If you could sum up How to Get Ideas in three words, what would they be?

Ideas are everywhere.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How to Get Ideas?

I especially appreciated the real world examples given in the book. This author writes from his experience...not just from academia.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Let's create National Pajama Day at work!

This is a great reminder to have some fun in your life! If everybody comes to work in their pajamas it's going to be a memorable day. So why not do more fun days because when your staff is having fun the creative juices are flowing better. This was a great little book about bringing out some of the better sides of people and encouraging them to bring their own ideas to the table.

Again it's very easy for us to get caught up in the day to day life and not pay attention to some of the small things. This has some really great ideas on how to get inspired and from places you would least think likely. By the way have you read your short story or poem of the day yet?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very helpful

As a writer, I listen to this book every once in a while, when I fell stuck on a particular problem, and I always seem to get ideas while listening to it. It's just a tad repetitive; I feel like it could have been a shorter book, but still useful. The narrator has an energetic tone that fits the book perfectly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful