[Paul Stamatiou] There’s no question about this, most of your time will be spent brainstorming for ideas. Brainstorming for random ideas is rather ineffective, so you will at least want to come up with the type of idea you want to create. Will it be a product, service or methodology for doing something better than it is currently done? Will it have a website and be 100% Internet based? What kind of resources are you willing to expend to see that this idea is fully realized? Once you have a basic foundation, you can start brainstorming productively, rather than spewing out unprocessed ideas.

While I like the general gist of Paul’s post, I’m not sure I agree that there can be a single methodology applied to coming up with the ‘killer idea’. There have been plenty of times where I’ve been in brainstorming sessions with lots of smart folks only to leave with little more than an empty stomach and frayed nerves. Other times, inspiration can strike you while in the middle of some ordinary routine, like taking a shower. 

One thing that I’ve learned though: you can’t be afraid to take risks (sure, it may be a calculated risk, but it’s still a risk none-the-less). Risk aversion is death.