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You know the feeling of having a great idea, but not taking action on it.
We’ve all been there.
It doesn’t matter if you’re working in a company or for yourself, great ideas pop up all the time. Sometimes we forget them, but more often than not these ideas never see the light of day because we do not take action.
The real mystery here is why don’t we take action?
Oftentimes, we find excuses.
“Oh, that’ll cost too much.”
“This will take too much time and work.”
“I’m sure someone else already thought of this.”
There are SO many reasons for not taking action, and all of these can be fixed with a little determination on your part.
There’s no limit to what you can do when you set your mind to it. And as you set your mind to manifesting your great idea, here are some basic life principles to keep in mind when executing on your vision.
Taking on a new challenge that you’ve never done before can be scary and overwhelming. That little voice in the back of your head will tell you no. It’ll creep into your mind and eat away at you.
“I’m not qualified for this.”
“I’ve never done this.”
“I can’t do this.”
Except that you can. That little voice does not control you. And while everyone has that voice, the most successful business people, entrepreneurs, and even professional athletes have all learned to quiet that voice and use it as motivation to fuel their fire.
The real fear here is being accountable for your actions.
When you’re taking on a new idea or concept, everything falls on you. So that little voice is scared of what can go wrong. But all the credit falls on you, too. When you pull it off and your idea works, you get all the praise.
Yes, you have to deal with new challenges you’ve never worked with before, and each challenge can eat away at your confidence as your fear of failing builds up. But you need to take ahold of that fear and stamp it down. You have the resources and capability to get it done, you just need to be confident and believe in yourself!
You can do it!
Here’s a great article on how to build confidence throughout your day.
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in the world today is that we fall in love with our own ideas. I know I’m guilty of that, as are so many of my friends and colleagues.
Part of the challenge is that in the business and entrepreneurial world there exists a mantra of “ignore the haters.”
And while that’s definitely accurate for people as they start up their new business endeavors, there’s a point at which that saying has to be tossed in the trash and you need to listen.
Where exactly is that point? Well, that’s for you to decide. But if you respect someone enough to ask for their opinion, then you should respect them enough to listen to their feedback. If you’re looking for a pat on the back and a “great job”, then you might be in the wrong business.
If you really want to bring your vision to life, then you need to not just be open to constructive criticism, but to actively look for it. And if your idea is a new business, then you really need to seek out feedback from prospective customers. Don’t just see if they like the idea, but would they pay for it? What’s their favorite thing about it? Most importantly, how would they improve it?
A new idea should focus on the end user. Figure out who that is and utilize their feedback.
Here’s a great article on how to accept feedback.
The path to materializing your vision is filled with risks. And that’s scary.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that it’s okay to be afraid. Fear is a natural reaction when faced new risks. Our bodies go into fight or flight mode. We can tackle the risks head on or we can make excuses and run from them.
Be courageous.
Courage doesn’t mean not being afraid. Courage is how we act in the face of fear. It’s doing what we need to do in spite of being afraid. If you stay in your comfort zone then you’ll never make any progress.
There’s a great quote by Marilyn Ferguson that states “Ultimately, we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.”.
Nowhere is that more true than when bringing our own ideas to life. You’ll have fears and hesitation when pursuing your dream, but be courageous and always move forward.
Here’s a great article on how to build courage.
There’s always such a rush to get everything done as quickly as possible. But that can be a big problem as an entrepreneur. History is filled with stories of people who are in such a rush to be first to market that they skip making sure everything works properly.
Just look at the Galaxy Samsung Note 7.
That phone beat the iPhone 7 to market but cost Samsung billions in losses as phones literally began exploding. After recalls and replacements couldn’t solve the issue, Samsung chose to discontinue the phone and must replace every single phone it sold. Was it worth it to be first to market? No.
You should always be moving forward, but that doesn’t mean you should rush. Be patient and work as quickly as you can, but make sure you’re pausing frequently to ensure everything is being done properly. If you sacrifice your accuracy for speed, you’ll end up rushing a decision you might not otherwise make.
Take your time, slow down, and be patient to make sure everything is being done properly.
Here’s a great article on how to be patient.
Albert Einstein once said, “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” One of your challenges in bringing your vision to life is to ensure that other people can understand your goal. If you can’t explain it to a child or your grandmother, then you need to rethink it.
If you’ve ever watched the HBO show Silicon Valley, there’s an ongoing gag where the show’s main character has to explain his product to customers, with no one understanding the concept, even after hours of diagrams and explanations. The product is full of potential and gets high praise from engineers and tech companies, but fails horribly because everyday users just don’t understand it.
While funny, the show illustrates a crucial principle in business – make sure people understand the product.
If prospective customers do not understand your product or service, they will have no idea as to why they should buy it. Take the time to understand your product intimately, and then figure out the simplest way to relay that information to your future customers.
Here’s a great article on how to give an elevator pitch.
Sometimes when you immerse yourself in a project, you forget to keep an eye on how it plays into the business or the company’s strategy. You lose sight of the forest for the trees, as the saying goes.
It’s important for you to focus on the big picture and always make sure you’re staying on track. When you do this, you may find a missing piece of the puzzle or connection at an event or meeting you hadn’t thought about before. You never know where that missing piece may come from, so put yourself out there with an eye on the big picture. Go to networking events and trade shows. Keep an eye on strategies and techniques which can help your business.
But always stay focused on the big picture.
Keep these basic life principles in mind when taking on a new project or idea. Write them down and post them where you see them all the time. Remember that you can do this! By putting your focus on the positive and on moving forward, you’ve got all the tools you need to bring your vision to life.
If you enjoyed these tips and would like to get more content like this, please remember to download your copy of our 21 point business startup checklist. It is a simple yet in-depth checklist we’ve put together for you to help you get started toward your startup goal.
