You know how mosquitos are just drawn to certain people? Like they walk from their car to their front door and somehow get seven bites.
I think I have that—but for ideas.
I subscribe to the Liz Gilbert belief (affiliate) that ideas are these tiny little beings flitting from person to person, looking for someone to bring them to life.
And for whatever reason, ideas love me. Matt waking up to me rambling about a potential business or art project or event series or product is just a normal Saturday morning.
During these whirlwind exchanges, I have to take a beat to remind myself that ideas want to be made manifest in our world. They’re manipulative little sirens. They’ll make a convincing case as to why I have to be the person to make them real ASAP because that’s their prerogative.
But I can’t do my best work if I make myself responsible for every idea that comes to visit.
Every time you see me breathing life into an idea, know there are many more that I’ve sent packing.
Idea people are not necessarily execution people. I’ve become both by getting better at choosing which ideas to act on. Here are a few questions I ask myself.
How persistent is this idea or the desire underlying it?
As a person with a lot of ideas buzzing about, I give priority to the ones that keep coming back. These are the ideas that want me as much as I want them.
The idea for an Inner Workout app visited in December 2020, but I didn’t act on it until last summer.
Lately, I keep getting ideas for in-person events. The desire for an in-person experience is consistent even if the ideas themselves change.
Does this idea—and the execution of this idea— align with what I say I want right now?
One of the quickest ways to narrow my ideas list is to run the ideas through my goals, my values, and my calendar.
Matt and I know we want to buy a business at some point. That idea’s persisted for years. Earlier this year, we were in talks to acquire a business.
The revenue and profit looked good on paper, but, when we played it out, the reality of owning this particular business would’ve really limited our ability to travel at a time where we’re trying to make travel more possible for us.
That was one reason we walked away from the deal.
How enduring is my enthusiasm?
Like I said earlier, ideas people are not necessarily execution people. One way to make execution easier is to only act on the ideas that most excite you.
Know why the idea excites you. Is it the challenge of learning new skills? The opportunity to flex your creative muscles? The potential impact?
And would that excitement stick around in times of difficulty?
Imagine things are three times as hard as you thought they would be, and you’re crying on the toilet at 5 am about how tough it’s been to get this idea off the ground.
Oof. Been there.
Would you want to keep going, even through your toilet tears? Or is this idea something you’re only interested in if it goes exactly as planned?
Your future self will appreciate your honesty.
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