Remember that moment when you got so excited because you had an idea that you just knew was going to succeed? You became so intoxicated by the idea that in your euphoria, you put your head down and sprinted towards the idea with abandon. Then something didn’t go as planned and you crashed. We’ve all experiencd this cycle before but most times this happens because we don’t allow ideas to run through their full cycle before we start racing towards them; we don’t give them the space they need to actually succeed. So what does an idea cycle look like?
Excitement – The excitement. The elation. The moment where the idea is birthed. We all love this time. This is the funnest part of an idea and the part that we need to hold on to because, as the idea develops, we’ll be desperate for the energy that the excitement phase has created.
Data Discovery – Is this idea viable? Is there space for this it that maybe you’re underselling? What’s necessary to make this idea work? During this phase, the idea often begins to morph from its original form because the data shows us where it needs to go and how making adjustments will help the idea to succeed. You can’t give up here. You have to do all the work to make sure your idea gets the chance it needs.
Fear and Concern – You will have these. We all do. Any idea worth exploring faces the chance that it won’t succeed. You can’t succumb to the fear of failure. Anything worth doing risks failing. Sure, there are a million reasons why something won’t happen but, guess what, someone is going to do it so it may as well be you. You need the right time, the right plan, the right advisors but you gotta beat the fear so you can succeed.
GO – Do the work. Execute the plan. Exhaust all possible opportunities to attempt success.
Failure – The best ideas rarely appear without this key ingredient. Accept that failure is a vital part of the process and there’s nothing you can do about it. There’s a rule in sales that says there are eight “no’s” for every one “yes.” The most important thing is not avoiding failure, it’s learning from it. Don’t waste failure, embrace it.
Success – The last stage – the culmination of all the work and the process. Success is where the plan, the people, and the process all come together to achieve the goal. It’s beautiful when it all comes together.
Are you allowing your ideas to run the cycle or do you find that you are getting caught in one of these areas?
