People always approach me with their ideas. They’ll often say something like: “I have a good idea. I just don’t know how to make it happen. Can you help me?”
I’m always tempted to tell them, “It’s not a good idea if you don’t know how to make it happen.” See, a good idea that you can’t do anything about is a pipe dream. It’s completely unattainable.
It would be a great idea to have millions of dollars buried around in random locations so people could get some financial assistance in hard times. Heck…that’s a great idea! But you can’t make it happen so it’s worthless. A good idea is the inspiration plus the measured perspiration.
Once you put feet on your idea, that’s a good idea. Sure, you might not know all the details. You might need help with one or two steps. But if you have an idea with nothing to back it up, it’s worthless.
I’ve found great ideas are less about the idea. They’re more about a problem.
When you identify a problem you want to solve, the good ideas come from the solutions. For instance, the problem I stated earlier was people who needed financial assistance in hard times. One “solution” is to bury money randomly. But as you think of tangible ideas that can actually work, that’s when you’ll come up with your good idea.
So many “good ideas” (that aren’t actually good ideas) start from the idea instead of the problem. That’s what makes them bad ideas. You can’t solve a problem with a good idea unless you know what the problem is.
I encourage you to start chasing solutions over ideas. Do more problem-solving than brainstorming. Identify a need you have and solve that—then let other people enjoy that solution too.
This is something I actually struggle with. If what you say is the case, why have the ability to come up with ideas? Is the process of “idea” creating and “solutions” searching a practice that we are just not used too and must apply to our lives?
Great article! Definitely make me think about and consider my ideas and creative process and solutions brainstorming.