Vision, Actualization. and the Crushing Weight of the World

Great Ideas are a Dime a Dozen

If you're like me, you have no shortage of good ideas. Every day you are struck with some vision that you are convinced is revolutionary and promises huge value. But how many of these dreams come true? How many of the wonderful ideas on your list (for many of us do keep a list) actually get implemented, gain traction and live on to confirm your convictions?

I love ideas, and I think they are very important. All the great revolutions in human history were founded on key ideas: The American Revolution was founded on the ideas of freedom, equality and democracy; the Internet came into being when someone combined the technology of networking 2 computers together with the ideas of generalization and universality; Wikipedia sprung from someone's precocious grasp of openness, trust and collaboration. And so on and so forth.

But without skilled and determined execution, ideas are nothing. Great ideas, like air, are very important, but, also like air, they are not in short supply. Ideas are not the bottleneck; it is the good, thoughtful orchestration and execution of those ideas that we so often lack and so sorely need, if we are to mold the world in our vision.


What Often Happens

1. You have a great idea. Perhaps you are by yourself, just thinking, or perhaps you are with a friend discussing something. Whatever the case, epiphany strikes. You are excited about it. You know it can change things for the better. Right at that moment you have a clear understanding of why your idea is so great, and you feel that you could communicate it to anyone and make them just as excited as you are.
2. You have a "honeymoon phase". For a while, this idea is all you can think about. You know that it is important, very important. You are surprised, even outraged, that such a great idea hasn't already been implemented. All your other interests and responsibilities seem mundane in comparison to pursuing this great idea. You bring it up in conversation, with mixed results, and you find that other people may not be as excited as you are, after all.
3. Something disappointing happens. Somewhere along the way, thinking about the idea becomes exhausting and overwhelming. Perhaps you have started implementing it, and have hit a road-block. You are finding it difficult to articulate to others (and even yourself) why you have been so excited all this time. Other great ideas creep into your mind, giving you guilty thoughts of infidelity: "This other idea seems just as good or better than this one, why have I been spending all my time on this, anyway?" Little by little, your zealous grasp on your great idea loosens, until at last it sinks into the ether of your subconscious and you get on with your life.

Lather, rinse and repeat.

Sound familiar? It does to me. I suffer through this cyclical drama constantly, and the degree to which my ideas actually get implemented is the degree to which I exercise discipline and good faith in my relationships with them.

A Confession: In fact, this cycle is going on right now as I write this blog entry. An idea crystallized for me the other day regarding ways to think about ideas, and I knew I would like to write about it. But as I try to put these lofty thoughts into words, I am confronted with mundane obstacles; the weight and clumsiness of the English language (at least when I use it!); the opportunity cost of spending a Saturday evening writing; the struggle to remain pumped about an initially exciting concept as I am forced to live with it through 1 or 2 long hours of trying to put it down on paper. Just another day in the life.


An Analogy

You can think of your relationships with your ideas just like your relationships with people, especially romantic ones. There is an exciting initial encounter, a euphoric "honeymoon phase", followed by lots and lots of time. A carefree fling or fiery romance can be weighed down or snuffed out by mundane differences, logistical considerations and, of course, competition for your attention by other potential mates. As you've probably noticed, the story here is the same as the one above.

This analogy is useful because we are already know (at least theoretically) how to overcome these obstacles in relationships with people. We've heard it all before: You need to work on your relationship. You need to be willing to put aside time for it, balance it with the rest of your life. You need to be honest in your relationship; it must be grounded in truth and openness, and if it really isn't working, you must be prepared to let it go. That being said, you need to be steadfast and strong, understand that love is a roller-coaster, yadda yadda yadda.

My claim is that, to the extent that this is good advice about relationships with people, all these concepts should apply to our relationships with our ideas as well. All the same techniques apply: Put aside time for reflection on your idea. When mundane obstacles strike and your attitude gets stale, remember the "good times" and recapture your excitement. Have a little restraint when it comes to romping around with other ideas.

So get over your infatuation with invention--great ideas are a dime a dozen. If you keep an open, curious mind, you will always have a supply of good ideas; what really matters is that you are able to put sustained care, effort and critical thought into making your ideas a reality. This steadfast care for your ideas is how we will change the world.