Picture yourself walking a route you’ve taken many times before. Plodding along, you notice an alleyway. You wonder where does that go?
So you take it, tentatively walking a little further.
Things seem different – unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells. But that doesn’t deter you. You’re curious to know where it leads.
Then, all of a sudden, the unfamiliar turns familiar. You look around, recognise a landmark or two – albeit from a different angle.
You’ve gained new perspective on a familiar landscape. Or a short-cut perhaps, to the same destination. Maybe it was nice to just try something different and gain unexpected, yet useful results.
You might even smile as you assimilate this pleasant, enlightening new knowledge. You can almost feel a new connection forming in your brain.
However you describe it. Something just clicked.
This is what’s called a lightbulb moment
They happen when existing knowledge connects to new in a beautiful intersection. And thanks to timing, experience, circumstance and many other factors, uncertainty turns to certainty.
Fear becomes the familiar. Pride and confidence grow. And you’re empowered with insight that makes life that little bit easier, next time you face the situation.
What interests me about lightbulb moments isn’t just how the dots connect. It’s about how the dots came to be in the first place. I’m fascinated with the conditions that prompt beautiful realisations like this
Perhaps that moment of vulnerability, as you turned down the unknown alleyway, had something to do with it? Maybe you were looking for a shortcut to get somewhere quicker. Or was it just your adventurous mood that day?
And why will this knowledge endure? Over everything else you might learn that day you went for a walk.
Perhaps it’s the practical nature of knowledge? Or that the breakthrough was on your own terms? And it all happened at a time when you were subconsciously ready or susceptible.
I’ve been documenting lightbulb moments for the best part of a decade. I’ve written on behalf of renowned culture change experts. Created countless insightful cases studies. I’ve also captured the conditions and factors that influence lightbulb moments. Whether that’s a global food manufacturer boosting productivity. Or a renewable energy company keeping their people safe. Or a creative coach helping freelancers turn their businesses around.
I’ve also been creating micro-lightbulb moments myself. With persuasive B2B copywriting. I’ve painted virtual landscapes with words, laid new pathways, and tempted people on adventures.
To me, conveying knowledge, crafting a position, and helping people realise truths – that’s fulfilment. Because I feel like I’ve provided for them; helping them focus on what really matters.
Something fascinates me about the art and science of lightbulb moments
And I’ve an inkling that that fascination, coupled with my experience, could be useful to other, likeminded people too.
I suspect knowing how to sculpt the conditions could be a powerful tool for creative people. Especially creative people delivering projects with socially and environmentally useful outcomes.
Just an idea anyway. Certainly one that won’t go away. That’s usually a sign. It’s also what happens after a lightbulb moment. It’s a realisation that just keeps on wicking at you.
In fact, it was hearing someone else describe what I do back to me, that I realised. Because I take this insight for granted. Crafting knowledge, using it to influence behaviour, and having endless curiosity, is just part of being a copywriter.
I think I’m on to something here.
More to follow, undoubtedly.
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