The Life of An Idea

I’ve been talking about new projects and new ideas the past few weeks. Ideas can come at any time, any place. The key is to stay alert for them. When a new idea comes, it is still small and fragile. If you’re not careful, you may lose track of it and it can slip through your fingers.

The next stage comes after you’ve been thinking about the idea for a little while. It’s starting to get stronger, and it may be popping up in your mind at random times. At this point, the idea starts to make me smile. It almost starts to play with me. It says “Come on… let’s have some fun.”

This is can be a crossroads… I have had ideas that have grown to this point, where I’ve thought that I wanted to give it a try. Then, I started to talk about it to a few other people.

Whether the idea “lives” or “dies” depends on who you talk to. If the person is enthusiastic and supportive, the idea has a chance to progress. If the person is neutral, the idea is not doomed, but it probably needs some more time to get stronger. If the person you talk to is pessimistic and discouraging, the idea is likely not going to make it to the light of day.

I once read a magazine article where the author said to “beware the dream-killers”. The phrase stuck with me, because that’s exactly what some people are. They usually mean well. They want to save you from disappointment or wasted effort. Others actually may actively want to keep you from trying and succeeding, because then they themselves will look bad.

Now when I find a new idea, I let it grow to the point where I think it can survive some negativity and “realism” before I start talking about it to others. When others talk to me about new ideas, I am as encouraging as possible. I don’t want to be one of the “dream-killers”.

What do you think? Have you had an idea die because you started talking about it before it was strong enough? Have you taken a “crazy” idea to success and proven others wrong? Leave a comment!

Until next time, remember… We are all magnificent.