“You have to take your little idea out into the world of reality… It requires a deal of patient working over to make most ideas fit the exact conditions, or the practical exigencies, under which they might work…
“Submit it to the criticism of the judicious. When you do, a surprising thing will happen. You will find that a good idea has, as it were, self-expanding qualities.
Day 4 - How much is an idea worth?
I’m a firm believer that the best form of idea generation actually happens in the process of building things. — John Borthwick, CEO of Betaworks
I, like you, have had many great ideas... The vast majority, unrealized.
So I ponder the question, what's an idea worth?
An idea itself has no value. It's only when it's backed up with deliberate action, with something tangible, when value is utilized.
Extracting the value from an idea requires action.
You can argue that some value comes from the idea itself, but until it produces something, it's unproven. You could measure the ROI of an idea based on the potential, but that would be speculation. Instead, if you used the same criteria as that to weigh the stock value of a company, you would began to get closer to the truth of what an idea is worth.
Here's the truth about those who implement great ideas. They simply get the ideas in to the hands of someone who has the ability to move the idea forward. Whether it's themselves or someone else.
Don't worry about people stealing your idea, worry that no one else will care.
You can realize any idea if you are willing and able to take the necessary steps to take the idea into reality. When you hit an obstacle, can you hand it off?
You may not know much about the game of rugby, but you can watch a one minute clip to understand how it's an analogy for passing the ball:
It's the score the ultimately matters, not how you get there.
When you are unable to move your idea, can you pass the ball? It's when we are unable to pass the ball to a more capable player when ideas fail.
Ideas can fall an defeat because someone holds the ball too long or drops it completely. The other team picks it up and we lose.
When we can't see the next step to take, we have to decide. Is it time to put the ball down or pass it? You can't score if you put the ball down. If you pass it, you will likely get it back later.
Throughout our day, there are times we need to put the ball down, run over to the next field, and take that ball forward. We each play our positions well. It's just that that position can only get us so far. We need other positions to score the points.
At what point do we stick with it and persevere until it becomes counter productive? (tip: type in 'persevere' into YouTube for some uplifting videos!)
AuthorDock provides a structure to give our ideas the seed to grow further.
Ideas kept in your head are like plants hidden from the sun. They eventually die.
To move an idea forward, you need a playbook. It's not until you get into the game, run into opposition, that you can design a play that works.
My vision with AuthorDock is to provide an ever expanding playbook that you can use to to move your idea forward.
One of the more useful aspects of AuthorDock is the activity tab. It's easier to pick up where you left off because you can find where you left off very quickly.
Happiness: When we are able to take action on on of our ideas!!
I also use the activity tab to apply the toll taker analogy.
Ideas shared with others are the ones that grow. Others are like the water that gives the seed of idea fuel to grow.
Entrepreneurs earn the admiration of others because they take ideas a step further than most. I define entrepreneur as 'one who is able to manifest an idea into a tangible form.'
To see an idea manifested into in tangible form is what gives the entrepreneur the gift of accomplishment.
The happyprenuer is someone who is making progress on a worthy goal. Someone who is taking bold steps towards the unknown, someone who is conquering their fears. And here's what you need to know... If you are on the lookout for obstacles to overcome, you will see the next step you need to take to realize the potential of the idea you once had.
Here lies the true meaning of 50 Interviews. It is the success stories behind the individuals who took an idea further than most. They show us by example how an idea can be turned into something tangible by the actions behind a will to overcome obstacles, any obstacle, that stood between their idea and the realization of it.
I used to be jealous and full of self defeating envy when I recognized the success of an entrepreneur. Now I revel in admiration for the individuals behind the accomplishments. I see myself as a journalist on a journey to reveal the steps they took to achieve miracles (I define a miracle as an outcome nobody could have predicted). I reverse engineer what I see by stepping backwards through the events that led to the outcome. I decode the process.
This allows me to look at something and rather quickly dissect it. It's a process to acquire knowledge without necessarily all the experience.
But then, can we learn something we cannot relate to an experience?
Knowledge without experience is only hypothesis. It's only ideas. An idea unrealized is not progress. Ideas precede experience. That is, they are the beginning. The act is the middle. The knowledge is the end.
The end of the experience can be defined as the moment we began reflection and the processing of what we just experienced.
The end becomes the start of he next application with new knowledge. New knowledge arises when we apply prior knowledge. We are making progress to the extent that we are assimilating the new knowledge as a direct result of the experience. This is why mindfulness is like the miracle grow for our life.
In Wireframes what I aim to write are fictional stories based on real outcomes. It's less about accuracy of the facts, and more about shifting beliefs in the reader. It's not about whether or not they stories are true, but rather could they happen? A successful outcome is when the reader can see a new possibility, as their belief of what is possible for themselves, as shown by example is ultimately revealed in new actions they take and the experiences that follow. Without belief that a path exists, we can't see the path at all.
All you must believe is that in a parallel universe somewhere, sometime, they could be true. This is because of the theory of infinite possibility. As the universe is in a constant state of expansion, all the possible paths that can exist do exist, just in a different dimension.