Is This a Good Idea Part 2

In the first part of this series on Ideas, we talked about your best ideas, the ones that you are completely convinced will change the world. We walked through the mental steps that you experience when a break-through idea pops into your head. We also talked about why those ideas shouldn’t have come to you – but why they do anyway! We introduced the concept of chronic Lazy Brain Syndrome – and diagnosed you and everyone else with this debilitating condition. If you missed Part One, go back and give it a look so you’re up to speed on what Part two is about.

So, how do we fill the gap between the impossible ideas that your brain gravitates toward and start feeding it ideas that you can actually take action on? After all, the only ideas that you should be spending any of your precious time on are the ones that you can actually carry out. Otherwise, you’ll spend a lifetime filled with dreams of what‘s possible, instead of one that is filled with actions and outcomes!

Let’s start with a definition of what a good idea is. Because good and bad have their own definitions, and when they are coupled with the word ‘idea’ they both take on a new meaning, we are going to take some literary liberty here and draft a new definition of what a ‘Good Idea’ is. And this definition will be purpose-built. The goal of this definition is to accurately capture the definition of Good Idea in a way that paints a clear target for us to work toward.

Good Idea: a thought or plan that originates intangible in the mind of an individual who is capable of expressing it in a tangible form that others can experience.

For thoroughness, lets give the a Bad Idea a definition too. Which should look like the opposite of a Good Idea.

Bad Idea: a thought or plan that originates intangibly in the mind of an individual who is incapable of expressing it in a tangible form that others can experience.

Before we get into a framework about how to decrease the frequency of impossible ideas and increase the frequency of actionalble ones, lets dispel a few myths about what “good ideas” actually are. Here are 5 common myths that we start to lean on and believe about the value and place ideas have in our decision of where to spend our time and energy.

MYTH #1: I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD IDEA AND A BAD IDEA

Now, don’t feel bad that I just challenged your abilities to successfully filter out the bad from the good ideas that you have. Keep in mind that my goal is to help you confidently know the difference between a good and bad idea.

MYTH #2: MY UNCLE CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD IDEA AND A BAD IDEA

MYTH #3: MY LEVEL OF PASSION FOR AN IDEA IS A THE MOST IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF HOW WELL I CAN EXECUTE THE IDEA

MYTH #4: IF SOMEBODY ELSE HAS SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED MY IDEA, MY OPPORTUNITY IS PAST

MYTH #5: IDEAS ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE – THE MOST VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION ANYONE CAN MAKE TO A BUSINESS VENTURE

Let’s create a framework around this problem that we can refer to as we work through the process of reducing the frequency of impossible ideas and increasing the frequency of ideas that are actionable.

For this framework to be useful, it needs to have at least the following components: