By Hassan Syed
‘Everything begins with an idea.’ – Earl Nightengale
We all come up with ideas on a regular basis. Some good ones, some silly ones and some inspiring ones. Many of our ideas come in our minds when dealing with an obstacle, a complex situation, or a problem. Psychologists say that human mind is worth much more than what we think, and even the most ordinary person could develop a great idea. The problem is that we keep losing our ideas. Sometimes we forget about them altogether, sometimes we drop them because we don’t believe in them, and sometimes we drop them because someone else has come up with a similar idea.
This article talks about three things that you can do to not lose your good ideas.
- Write it down
The first step towards protecting your idea is to write it down. I am not talking about a big document, just a sentence or two. Writing down an idea helps in organizing your thoughts. It also provides a starting point for you to think about its value. www.IdeaGist.com offers a simple and secure way of storing your ideas.
‘If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.’ – Alfred Noble
- Understand its value or impact
We all remember that one idea we thought about which was worth millions or billions. We kept telling people about that idea for days, months or even years. Our excitement about an idea is directly proportionate to our perception of its potential impact or value.
Sometime the lightbulb turns on in an instant but most of the time we need to refine and polish our ideas for them to become valuable. So the second step towards not losing that idea is to think about its value or impact. Ask yourself questions like, which problem does it solve? Who will benefit from it? How would they value your solution? IdeaGist.com provides a value proposition tool and a simple problem-statement feedback tool to help you in assessing the impact or value of your ideas. Associating value with your idea helps you with the next point: fear.
‘If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope in it.’ – Albert Einstein
- Overcome the fear
Almost all the inaction about our ideas stems from a fear of some kind. Fears like: I don’t have time; I don’t have money; I don’t have experience; What if I fail; it sounds so silly; I don’t know enough; no one would help me; and many more.
Courage is the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. How do we get the courage to overcome all our fears?
Here are few simple ways to overcome your fears:
- Clearly define the outcome. What is it that you need to make/develop in order to bring your idea to reality? Is it a device, a tool, a software, a medicine, a procedure, etc.? The more you define your outcome clearly, the more confident you will become.
- Find a believer or two in your idea. People who are motivated to see the outcome of your idea. This one single thing can address many different fears.
- Get connected with the right people and get inspired. Go to meetups in your city where other people with ideas talk about their experiences. Courage is infectious; just knowing a few other people who have the courage to follow their dreams will inspire you.
- Find a mentor; someone who has done it before, someone who is willing to help you, someone you can trust. Mentors play a significant role in the success entrepreneurs. The experience that mentors bring with them is invaluable to young aspirants who want to venture out on their own. Good mentors can increase the probability of success substantially; in personal development, professional careers and in entrepreneurial endeavors.
IdeaGist can help you in all of the above areas.
‘An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.’ – Edward de Bono
Our ideas have the power to change the world, but without action, our greatest ideas only exist as dreams. Join www.IdeaGist.com to act upon your ideas.
With the belief that every idea deserves a chance to become a reality and everyone deserves an opportunity to pursue their dreams, the team at IdeaGist would like to see a world where everyone collaborates in bringing their ideas to reality, regardless of their location or background.
‘Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.’ – Napoleon Hill