Where Ideas Go to Die
Have you ever had a great idea? An idea so wonderful you knew it would carry you into retirement. An idea so miraculous you knew it was going to change the world. An idea so precious you knew you couldn’t let it go - so you scribbled it down on a cafe napkin - leaving the rest, as they say ... to history. Or ... did your great idea simply become ... history?
What happened to that once great idea? If you are like most people then you moved your idea off to one side and it soon took up residence in a land called ‘Intention’. You usually know when your idea has moved to Intention when you find yourself saying things like "... I meant to do something with that idea ..." " ... If I had only gotten that idea out into the world ..." " ... once, I had an idea that was so great ... "
Just so you don’t feel alone in this failure to turn great ideas into personal greatness - let me convey a short story. One of my great ideas - you won’t believe this when I tell you - was the digital picture frame. Go ahead, laugh it up ... But while I was in college digital cameras were just being introduced. And the highest end digital cameras had large LCD screens used to preview the image you were capturing. Everyone was enthralled with these things and couldn’t believe how easy it was to snap photos, and print them at home. I saw an even bigger idea on the horizon!
In my mind - I pulled the casing of a high end digital camera apart. The electric guts spilled out, and the thin LCD screen fell limp to the table. Lifeless. With some basic wood working knowledge I pieced together a sturdy frame. And with some basic electronics knowledge I pieced together the storage card drives, the LCD screen, an electric plug, and the small frame. In my mind - I plugged in the little frame and let it rotate through images - I loaded a new photo storage card and saw a whole new collection of images. In my mind - I marketed the idea to Kodak, Nokia, Zentih, anyone who would mass produce the World’s First digital picture frame - I would be a millionaire overnight! In my mind ...
In this vast land - Intention - there is a very grand resort. This place is ‘the BEST Of Intention’. Many ideas check in, but they can never leave. When your idea becomes a guest of the Best of Intention, and soon a full time resident of the land of Intention... It’s over. Hang it up. Your idea is as good as dead.
And it’s understandable how this can happen - even to the best ideas. We all get bogged down in the chores of day-to-day life. Life demands our attention on countless other obligations. And before you know it, if you are a Thinker, even more ideas pass through your mind and soon find a well worn path leading them straight to the Best of Intentions too.
It is important that you break this cycle of dead and dying ideas! The best thing you can do it is TAKE ACTION. Start immediately! And take steps to perform at least a little action every day toward your big idea. If someone else beats you to the punch, and brings the digital picture frame to life before you - don’t despair. All the time and energy you spent taking action on your idea began to wear a new path. That new path leads to a wholly different place. And soon the many ideas that pass through your mind won’t head off toward Intention. They will spur one another on, and encourage each other to reach the new goal ... Manifestation!
Once you’ve made it to Manifestation a few times - you’ll never be satisfied with Intention. And eventually all of your ideas will come to life, flourish, and fly!