I reckon it's useful to treat your ideas as though they aren't yours. That way you don't get too attached to them, and don't get too arrogant when a good one comes along. It also takes the pressure off … it’s not up to you to be brilliant.

(Elizabeth Gilbert’s Ted Talk on this is brilliant).

If you're religious, think of your ideas as gifts from God. If you are spiritual, treat them as part of the collective consciousness. If you are more scientifically minded, treat them as neural connections in your brain. If you are some combination of the above, choose whichever feels best.

In any case, whether this is true or not, I think it’s a useful perspective for a thought leader. Your ideas come through you, not from you. You are a custodian of this idea that has value, but it's not yours. Use them, but don't take credit for them.

(And as an aside, I think that's a good way to think about your kids, too, if you have any. Don't take credit for them. Do them the favour of letting their successes and their failures be their fault, not yours.)