Mindstorming: The Complete Guide to Brian Tracy’s 20-Idea Method

Mindstorming, also called the 20-idea method, is a solo idea-generation technique taught by Brian Tracy: you write a specific question about a goal or problem at the top of a page, force yourself to write at least 20 answers, then choose at least one to act on immediately.

Creative thinking technique · Themes: creativity, problem-solving, goals, ideas

Last updated: 13 November 2026

Written by Saj Ali

Reading time: about 10 minutes

How we wrote this guide: this guide was written by Saj Ali. It draws on Brian Tracy’s description of the method in _Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life_ (2003), chapter 9, and on published research on brainstorming and creative idea generation. Every research claim links to its source.

Mindstorming in brief

• What it is. Writing at least 20 answers to one specific question, alone, on paper.
• The question. Specific, with a number and a deadline: “How can I get 50 more customers by March?”
• The rule. Don’t stop before 20. The best ideas often come last.
• The finish. Pick at least one answer and act on it today.
• Pairs well with. Goal setting and the golden hour.

Contents

1. What Is Mindstorming?
2. How to Mindstorm: Step by Step
3. Making It a Daily Habit
4. Worked Examples
5. Mindstorming vs Brainstorming
6. What the Research Says
7. Common Mistakes
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Key Takeaways
10. Explore More on Self Help Supermarket
11. Sources

What Is Mindstorming?

Mindstorming is brainstorming with yourself. Brian Tracy described it in Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life as one of two ways “to unlock your brainpower and generate more ideas for goal attainment”: “mindstorming” on your own, and “brainstorming” with others (Tracy, 2003).

“The process of ‘mindstorming’ is often called the ‘20-idea method,’” he wrote. “All you need is a blank sheet of paper.” He said he had taught it “to many tens of thousands of people all over the world” (Tracy, 2003).

The method has three parts: a precise question, at least 20 answers, and immediate action on at least one of them. Its power, in Tracy’s view, lay in its simplicity and in the discipline of not stopping until you reach 20.

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How to Mindstorm: Step by Step

Here is the method as Tracy described it (Tracy, 2003).

1. Write a specific question

At the top of the page, write your goal or problem as a question. “Make the question on this goal as specific as possible. The more specific the question, the better your mind can focus on it.” Instead of “How can I make more money?”, Tracy suggested: “What can I do to double my income over the next 24 months?”

Good questions usually include a number, a deadline and the word “I”: “How can I find a new job in marketing by 30 June?”

2. Write at least 20 answers

“Discipline yourself to generate at least 20 different answers to that question.” You can write more, “but you must write a minimum of 20”.

Tracy described the pattern most people experience: “Your first answers will probably be simple and obvious… They will be easy. The next 5 to 10 answers will be harder. The last 10 answers will be excruciatingly difficult, like squeezing water out of a stone.” Keep going anyway.

3. Play with the answers

To push past the obvious, Tracy suggested writing “the exact opposite of one of your earlier answers”, or even “ridiculous answers”. If one answer is “work harder at my current job”, the next might be “work less at my current job”, “work harder at a different job”, or “create your own job”.

4. Pick at least one and act now

“Go back over your answers and select at least one answer that you are going to take action on immediately. This step is very important!” Tracy believed that acting on one idea keeps new ideas coming.

5. Go deeper (optional)

Take the idea you chose and mindstorm on it: write 20 ways to put that one idea into practice.

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Making It a Daily Habit

Tracy recommended mindstorming first thing in the morning on your most important goal. “If you generate 20 ways to achieve your major goal in the morning before you start out, you will find yourself thinking creatively all day long” (Tracy, 2003).

He also did the arithmetic: 20 ideas a day, five days a week, gives 100 ideas a week, and over 50 weeks “an astounding total of 5,000 new ideas” (Tracy, 2003). That is his projection rather than a measured result, and the number of good ideas will be far smaller. But even one useful idea a week is a lot over a year.

A practical routine:

1. Keep a dedicated notebook.
2. Each morning, write one question, usually about your major goal.
3. Write 20 answers in 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Circle one and put it on today’s list.
5. Once a week, read back through the week’s pages for ideas worth revisiting.

Mindstorming fits naturally into Tracy’s golden hour morning routine, straight after rewriting your goals.

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Worked Examples

A small business

A café owner writes: “How can I get 50 more customers a week by March?”

1–8 are obvious: flyers, social media posts, a loyalty card, a lunch deal, a sign on the pavement, a listing on a map app, asking for reviews, a student discount.

9–15 take more effort: a quiz night, a partnership with the gym next door, a pre-order app, catering for local offices, a book club, a kids’ corner, a dog-friendly policy.

16–20 are a struggle: close one day a week and open late on Fridays (an “opposite” answer), offer the back room free to local clubs during quiet hours, sell coffee beans to neighbouring shops, run a barista class, host a monthly market.

She chooses number 17, offering the room to clubs, and calls two that afternoon.

A career question

A graduate writes: “How can I get three interviews for analyst jobs by the end of April?” Answer 4 is “apply to more jobs”. Answer 19 is “offer to analyse a small charity’s data for free and use it as a portfolio project”. He emails a local charity the same day.

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Mindstorming vs Brainstorming

Brainstorming, the group version, was popularised by the advertising executive Alex Osborn, notably in his book Applied Imagination (1953). It asks a group to generate many ideas quickly, without criticism, and to judge them later (Wikipedia).

Research has repeatedly found that face-to-face groups generate fewer ideas than the same number of people working alone and pooling their ideas afterwards. A meta-analysis by Brian Mullen, Craig Johnson and Eduardo Salas found that such “nominal groups” outperformed interacting groups in both the quantity and the quality of ideas (Mullen, Johnson & Salas, 1991). Michael Diehl and Wolfgang Stroebe identified one main reason: “production blocking”. In a group, only one person can speak at a time, so others forget or suppress their ideas while they wait (Diehl & Stroebe, 1987).

A good compromise, supported by the research, is to have each person mindstorm on their own first, then bring the lists together for discussion.

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What the Research Says

Mindstorming hasn’t been tested under that name, but research on idea generation supports its key features.

• Later ideas are often more creative. Roger Beaty and Paul Silvia studied the “serial order effect” in divergent-thinking tasks: ideas tend to become more creative over time as people move past the obvious answers (Beaty & Silvia, 2012). That is exactly why Tracy insisted on pushing to 20.
• Working alone avoids group losses. Individuals generating ideas alone and pooling them outperform face-to-face groups (Mullen, Johnson & Salas, 1991), largely because of production blocking (Diehl & Stroebe, 1987).
• Acting on a plan helps. Choosing one idea and deciding when you will do it is a form of implementation intention, which improves follow-through (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).

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Common Mistakes

• Stopping at 10. The easy answers come first. The point of the method is the hard ones.
• A vague question. “How can I be happier?” is hard to answer. “What could I do this month to see friends twice a week?” is easy to work with.
• Judging as you go. Write everything down, however silly. Judge afterwards.
• No action. A notebook full of lists changes nothing. Circle one idea and do it today.
• Same question every day. Once you have acted on a few ideas, update the question.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is mindstorming?

It is a solo idea-generation method taught by Brian Tracy: write a specific question at the top of a page, write at least 20 answers, then choose at least one to act on immediately.

What is the 20-idea method?

It is another name for mindstorming. The number 20 is a minimum: Tracy found that the first answers are easy and obvious, and the most useful ideas often come near the end.

How is mindstorming different from brainstorming?

Mindstorming is done alone on paper; brainstorming is done in a group. Research suggests that people generating ideas alone and then pooling them produce more and better ideas than face-to-face groups.

What kind of question should I use?

A specific one, ideally with a number and a deadline, such as “What can I do to double my income over the next 24 months?” rather than “How can I make more money?”

How long does mindstorming take?

Usually 10 to 30 minutes for 20 answers. It gets faster with practice.

Is there evidence that mindstorming works?

The method hasn’t been tested by name, but research shows that later ideas in a session tend to be more creative, and that individuals working alone avoid the “production blocking” that slows groups down.

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Key Takeaways

• Mindstorming means writing at least 20 answers to one specific question.
• Make the question precise, with a number and a deadline.
• Keep going past the easy answers; later ideas tend to be more creative.
• Choose at least one idea and act on it the same day.
• Doing it alone avoids the production blocking that slows group brainstorming.

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Explore More on Self Help Supermarket

Use these pages alongside this one:

• Goal Setting: The Complete Guide – choose a goal to mindstorm on
• Morning Routine: The Golden Hour – where mindstorming fits in Tracy’s morning
• Eat That Frog – turn your best idea into today’s frog
• Zero-Based Thinking – decide what to stop to make room for new ideas
• Brian Tracy: His Life, Philosophy, Techniques and Legacy – the full system
• Brian Tracy: expert profile – his books, videos and key ideas
• Motivation – ways to get and stay motivated
• Browse all self-help techniques – compare every method on Self Help Supermarket.

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Sources

1. Tracy, B. Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement. Wiley, 2003. Internet Archive record. https://archive.org/details/changeyourthinki0000trac
2. Self Help Supermarket. “Brian Tracy (1944–2026): His Life, Philosophy, Techniques and Legacy”. https://www.selfhelpsupermarket.com/brian-tracy-tribute/
3. Wikipedia. “Brainstorming”, accessed 13 November 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming
4. Mullen, B., Johnson, C., & Salas, E. (1991). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: A meta-analytic integration. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp1201_1
5. Diehl, M., & Stroebe, W. (1987). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: Toward the solution of a riddle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(3), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.3.497
6. Beaty, R. E., & Silvia, P. J. (2012). Why do ideas get more creative across time? An executive interpretation of the serial order effect in divergent thinking tasks. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6(4), 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029171
7. Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601%2806%2938002-1