Let’s talk about your big idea…
I’m assuming you have one (or many)… And the steps usually look like this:
1) You come up with the idea.
2) You set out to figure out how to do it, how everything would work…
3) But then you rationalized that you couldn’t do it, so you move on to the next big idea, and this cycle continues….
Can you relate?
I certainly can. More times than I can count.
What happens here is dangerous: Your brain scrambles, and jumps into the mechanisms of implementation…
You get overwhelmed by the details, the “how”, before you can even make a commitment to your idea…
Your uninformed optimism quickly turns into informed pessimism….
And sure, it seems logical to try to figure out exactly how everything is going to work before we commit to something…
However, this turns into a million little details that overwhelm us and prevent us from even starting.
Successful people go in on an idea, and commit to learning and figuring out everything on the fly.
And the most certainly are ready to pivot, based on feedback from the market, and the universe.
So next time you have that big idea….
Instead of jumping into the details, or “the how”…
The “Why?” Behind this Idea
Why this idea? Why do you want to do it?
When you understand your why, you have a driving force that will help you push through all obstacles and challenges.
When you have your why clearly defined, you should have the clarity to know if you should move on, or commit to the idea.
If it’s a maybe — then just file it into your “notebook of big ideas” — and refer back to it at least once per month.
When you know your why, you can move onto your How: How everything will work and how you’ll make it happen.
Now, if the idea is really big, like change-the-world Uber style big…
Don’t think beyond the first 12 months…
Think about the first steps you need to take to get things up and running, and to take that big idea out of your head…
And into the world.
Beware of “Perfect Planning”
It doesn’t have to be perfect, nor does it have to be good. Neil always warns us against the scrooge of “perfect planning”—a form of procrastination that leaves you in the planning phase and never into the execution phase.
All that matters is that it’s out in the world and it’s tangible. Improvements come later, but you’ll want validation on your idea first.
And you’ll find out that once you execute, and put your idea out into the world…
You build momentum, and more and more “serendipitous opportunities” start appearing out of nowhere.
Just remember:
Everyone has big ideas… But few people execute on them.
Most dive into the details, develop an attitude of informed pessimism, and never even get started.
But when you focus on today’s work, and not tomorrow’s, your ideas will become a reality.
Your “why” will help you figure out your how….
If you’re an entrepreneur, or someone who wants to take that idea out of your head, and bring it into the world…
I highly recommend watching this TED Talk by Simon Sinek (18 minutes):
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