Stop letting your best ideas die in forgotten notebooks

Every time I save an interesting idea, it has the potential to be a pathway to a hundred more - like following a trail of breadcrumbs through a forest of preferred knowledge. This has changed how I think about collecting and connecting information, leading me to discover patterns and insights I never would have found through traditional note-taking or bookmarking. Traditionally, I’ve used a prompt to show random notes from my Roam Research graph every week but recently I came across something else.

Moving From Static Notes

Most of us have a digital drawer full of forgotten notes and bookmarks that just sit there gathering dust. Yeah, I still have a free Evernote account I log into once or twice a year to see if I left something that I can’t find somewhere else… What I really needed wasn't another place to store information, but a way to bring these ideas to life.

That's why I was intrigued by a different approach. Instead of creating another static database of knowledge, I wanted something that could actively help me discover new connections and that was actually the main goal. Think about how your brain works when you're really into a topic - one thought leads to another, and suddenly you're making connections you never expected.

The difference is like comparing a library where books just sit on shelves to one where the books actively talk to each other and suggest new reads based on what you're interested in. So what does this?

This Week’s Favorite

Ideas That Multiply

Sublime. I recently saved a quote about avoiding problems from a book I was reading. Instead of that quote just sitting there, I was able to be instantly connected to a network of related thoughts about risk management, decision-making, and success strategies.

What makes this particularly powerful is that I'm not just seeing my own saved content. I'm discovering insights from other minds who've explored similar topics. It's kind of like having conversations with dozens of well-read people who share your interests, or at least the footnotes.

I connected my existing tools like Readwise and Kindle, to give myself a starting point and see how it works - there’s also a web clipper.

Here's what I love most about this approach: I can keep my personal notes private while still benefiting from the collective knowledge of others. Some days I'll start with one saved highlight about creativity and end up discovering fascinating connections to psychology, art, or business that I never would have made on my own.

The real magic happens when you stop trying to organize everything perfectly and instead let your curiosity guide you through these connected ideas.

I show all of this in action if you’d like to check it out in the video below. I really think Sublime is on to something and despite some negative comments I’ve seen online about “another tool that shows connections” I think that helping discover related concepts, deeper meaning, and just boosting your creativity and connections is something that hasn’t actually been done that well - Sublime certainly feels different to me.

Extra Extra

• Sublime's LinkedIn reveals their philosophy of treating users as "creative human beings" rather than just "knowledge workers," which adds interesting context to their approach. Definitely not the normal note taking app approach!

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