A Million Dollar Idea
I'm writing this Monday morning. My usual Monday to-do list has gone like this:
Prep for Meraki Session on Wednesday
Write Newsletter to send Tuesday (That's what you're reading)
Meeting with my mastermind group, Charles Freligh, Saqib Rizvi, and Darius Bashar
Finalize creating/publishing whatever I can (Today that means a new video course on Insight Timer)
I watch my son all day on Tuesday, and see clients Wed-Friday, which makes me feel I must get the most out of Monday.
Yet this morning, as I sat down to prep for Meraki, my mind was blank.
I'm sitting here, open to ideas, and it has me reflecting on the concept of ideas itself and how much my life has changed by being willing to risk sharing them.
There was a time when I didn't let myself do such a thing. When I was working a regular job, I just followed the tasks given.
At 24 years old, I wasn't aware of my own creativity, which seems like an utter disappointment to our public education system, but I take responsibility.
More than anything, I wasn't around people who were dreaming and doing. I didn't have mentors and coaches who could reflect back my own capacity and hold me accountable to stretch what I thought was possible.
Yet the more I got into personal development, the more I saw a chasm between people who attended seminars and got excited about the possibilities, and those who actually got to work and did something with their inspiration.
Fail Faster
What the successful realize is that it's not about having the perfect idea or "waiting for the right time" – it's about accelerating the rate of failure so you can learn and grow as fast as you can.
Instagram started as a location-based mobile check-in app. They found that the feature people loved most was sharing pictures of where they were, which led them to focus entirely on mobile photo sharing. They could never have known that unless they got started.
A decent idea executed well is worth more than a so-called million-dollar idea that's talked about for hours, but stays in the dream world.
One of my favorite humans, Derek Sivers, pointed this out in his article "Ideas are Just a Multiplier of Execution." He says
Ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.
Explanation:
AWFUL IDEA -1
WEAK IDEA 1
SO-SO IDEA 5
GOOD IDEA 10
GREAT IDEA 15
BRILLIANT IDEA 20
NO EXECUTION $1
WEAK EXECUTION $1000
SO-SO EXECUTION $10,000
GOOD EXECUTION $100,000
GREAT EXECUTION $1,000,000
BRILLIANT EXECUTION $10,000,000
This means if you had a weak idea and great execution, you can still make a million dollars.
I wasn't sure if this idea about ideas would flesh out to an actual newsletter, but it seems to have.
It all started by getting started.
We get to control that.
My encouragement for you this week is to take action on ok ideas rather than waiting for the "best" one to come along.
It might turn into something better than you could have planned.
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What do high performers or those who execute well have in common?
They have a group of peers they can learn from
They have mentors who advise them based on what they already accomplished
They have coaches to help them get the most out of themselves and their ideas
Meraki is a free group I run every Wednesday for teachers, writers, creatives, and coaches. It's for anyone pursuing what they love in the world.
If you're someone who is taking action on your ideas, come join us; I'm still not sure what we'll be doing, but that's never stopped me.
And if you have big dreams yet get stuck in overanalyzing and not doing, explore working with me as your coach.
Here is what Rachel said about her last session:
"Lou is an incredible coach! In just one session, he helped me connect with the part of myself holding me back from going all in on pursuing my dreams and work through blocks I didn't even know I had. The container he creates for transformation is extremely powerful."