Good essay. My trick is to realize that humans simply cannot produce ideas, they can only refine them (whether or not that is true doesn't really matter). By thinking that, the only option you have is to LISTEN for ideas and spend all your time trying to whittle down what you hear to something that has a nugget of interest. And then if you worry that idea in your head 4 times as long as a normal person would, you are bound to get to an interesting place with it. I'd recommend that even if you don't want to make a startup because it makes the world a more interesting place to be.