Step 4. Have an idea quota

To generate great ideas, look around for clues. 

• You can deduce the reasons why something is successful by asking the relevant people why they like it.
• If it is an unexpectedly successful blog post, read the comments. 
• Observe. People often are not able to accurately articulate why they like something.

An idea is a connection between two concepts.

Steve Jobs said that creativity is just connecting things. When you understand that and think of ideas in that way, the process of generating ideas will seem a lot less intimidating.

Select the area that you would like to generate the idea in.  Define it clearly and be as specific as possible.

Is it blog post ideas, local business ideas?

Pick out the best ideas and start analyzing them. Eliminate until you have about 10 ideas left.

Use the great ideas and see how they perform.

Look for surprisingly successful things. Look for the things that look out-of-place in the area that you've chosen, but are performing above expectations.