Idea, Communication, and Action

Really big ideas produce really big results.  We often marvel at businesses who seem to be in the right place at the right time and come through with a huge sensation out of nowhere.  "Why didn't I think of that?"  The funny thing is there are a lot of things that we actually do think of but never act on or let go of before we've realized their full potential.

Christopher Columbus had the biggest idea of his day and against popular vote knew in his heart that the Earth was in fact round.  He needed a lot of cash to prove his idea to be true and went to the biggest Venture Capitalist that came to his mind, Queen Isabella.  Can you even imagine the speech he had to give to convince her that against everything she had been taught and believed there was a possibility that the shape of their planet was actually different than always thought?

He did it. We can only imagine the scene and how it played out but the point is that he did it.  Christopher Columbus mustered up the strength, faith, belief, and perseverance to go where no man has gone before.  He had an idea, he communicated it to anyone he could get to listen, and he took action to prove his idea.  It seems simple enough so why is it such a hard premise for most of us to take hold of and put into play?  Maybe it's a little bit of fear from the unknown mixed with some self doubt or maybe its just that we've been told too many times that something is not possible.

Some of my greatest achievements in business came from situations where an idea popped into my head, I picked up the phone to connect with someone, and  just made it happen.  I didn't leave any room for self doubt or questions to flood in and never once let myself believe that it wasn't possible to achieve this new goal I had set.  Looking back over my career I realize that the moment I let something sit too long in the thinking stage before I acted on it - the idea usually became dead in the water and never went anywhere.  The point is  that by nature we are meant to create.  Don't be to attached that your final outcome is exactly what you  envisioned. Creating can get messy and sometimes from our miscalculations or mistakes come the greatest outcomes and achievements. 

The next time an idea pops into your head promise yourself that before you dismiss it you'll share it with a friend and take at least one step in the direction of making it happen.  You never know what it will become.