Have you ever had a great idea that just wouldn’t get out of your head? One of those amazingly brilliant ideas that you can’t stop thinking about?
It’s annoying, isn’t it? Spending hours daydreaming about the bright, unknown future when you really should be finishing up all that comfortingly mundane paperwork? Feeling like you’re about to burst with all the inspired energy swelling inside of you? Can’t be healthy.
Who wants great ideas anyway? Judging from the state of the world … almost no-one. So make sure you don’t stand out by killing off that great idea right now.
Here’s how great ideas die.
Great Ideas Can Starve
“Ideas in secret die. They need light and air or they starve to death.” – Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a very smart man. He’s written a lot of very smart books – and he knows how to stop a great idea dead in its tracks: keep it a secret.
If you need to kill off a great idea, don’t tell anyone about it. Be greedy. Hoard it. Don’t give anyone else a chance to admire it. What if they steal it? Better not to risk it and just ensure that your idea goes to an early grave. Without the light and air of teamwork, your idea is doomed. Which is exactly what you want, right?
Just think about the alternative. If you share your idea with other people, they might get excited about it. They might help you improve it. They might hold you accountable to your potential. They might even help you change the world.
But that’s so much work! Just forget it. Starve your great idea – or be forced to soar with it. It’s your choice.
Great Ideas Can Die of Cancer
Idea cancer? What’s that? And how can you make sure your great idea contracts a particularly nasty case of it?
Idea cancer is what happens when an idea gets bloated and spins out of control. You can spread idea cancer in just three easy steps:
- Idea Cancer Step 1: Make everything expensive. One of easiest way to kill a great idea is to assume that it’s going to be expensive. After all, it’s absolutely impossible to achieve something great without spending millions, right? So go ahead, slap an imaginary price tag on every piece of that great idea. Don’t bother finding creative ways around the money issues. That pesky idea will be dead before you know it.
- Idea Cancer Step 2: Make everything more complicated. Simple, efficient, stripped-down ideas are bad news. They’re much too likely to take off and accomplish something great. Want to ensure that your great idea never leaves the ground? Complicate everything. Obsess over every tiny detail all day, every day. Add a lot of unnecessary fluff. Tangle the idea up until it’s impossible to tell up from down. And whatever you do, don’t simplify, streamline, or refine it.
- Idea Cancer Step 3: Make sure to please everyone. You know that saying: “You can’t please everyone?” It’s true – but disregard it and try to anyway. Keep adding, removing, and changing things every time anyone wants you to change anything. Try to make everyone happy (except yourself, of course). Pretty soon that great idea of yours will be distorted, corrupted, and disfigured beyond recognition. Its demise won’t be far behind.
Great Ideas Can Be Bludgeoned to Death
If that great idea still isn’t gone, you’ve got two options. One is to just accept that you’ve got one doozy of an idea and resign yourself to pursuing success. The other option (which takes much less effort) is brute force. Bludgeon that stubborn, brilliant idea to death with an endless barrage of “No you can’t.”
But where will you find such a vast supply of discouragement? Pretty much everywhere. Closed-minded bosses, government bureaucrats, lazy college friends, disillusioned businesspeople, jaded teachers – all these are great sources of limitless “NO.”
A word of caution. If you truly want your great idea to die, don’t, under any circumstances, protect it. Don’t stand up for it. Don’t pour your passion into it. Don’t tell the naysayers to shut it. If you do, you’ll quickly discover how powerless the “NO” really is. And then you’ll have no choice but to follow through and bring that great idea to fruition.
All Joking Aside
If you haven’t noticed by now, this post is pretty tongue-in-cheek. But all joking aside, please don’t let your great ideas go to waste. Ideas change the world.
Nurturing a great idea is a long and difficult process. I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but keep these three very important lessons in mind:
- Don’t hide your ideas away. Share them with others who can help you and encourage you.
- Don’t complicate your idea to death. Strip away the layers and find the shining core underneath.
- Don’t surrender your idea to the the naysayers. Defend it with everything you have.
What great things can you accomplish today? This week? This year? This lifetime?
31 Comments on “How to Kill a Great Idea”
says:
Jeffrey–This is an abolutely great post. It mirrors an idea I have in my book about dream stealers and all the ways that other people can convince you not to pursue your dream. Thanks for sharing.
says:
That's for the compliment :) By the way, what's your book called, and where can I get a copy? I'd love to read it.
says:
Oh boy, I should never have read this article just 5 minutes before bedtime – how am I ever going to fall asleep knowing that I'm killing all the ideas in my head :(
Seriously though, you're right, ideas needs to come out – and ideas based on simple stuff needs to remain simple, not having somebody (or yourself) making them so advanced that they will actually never launch (I see that happen alot!).
says:
This is awesome! I love the approach you took here. Unexpected and very witty.
We must take responsibility for our own potential.
says:
Hi Jeffrey, my book is The Portable Coach and it is available at Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Coach-Do-Yoursel...) I'm working on updating it to include more web references, etc. If you'd be interested in reviewing it, I would gladly send you a PDF copy once I have it updated (probably two to three weeks).
Thanks
says:
Great post. I like the way you have presented some really great advice. This is the sort of thing all would-be entrepreneurs need to read!
I remember listening to Mike Harris who has started (I think) three different billion £ businesses, saying that being told by “the experts” that what you are attempting is impossible, is a key step on an entrepreneur's journey.
says:
It's kind of an ironic pitfall. When you're passionate about something, it's tempting to just keep adding and adding and adding … and pretty soon you've got one hell of a mess. Keeping things simple isn't easy, but it's important.
says:
“We must take responsibility for our own potential.”
Such a simple, wonderful goal … yet so difficult to actually put into practice.
says:
Haha! I like it. It's true, though – the things that make the biggest impact are those that “will never work.”
says:
Great tongue in cheek encouragement for those of us who are guilty of idea murder! Simplicity is hard and its so easy to add the unnecessary fluff until we are buried beneath it. I'd just add that great ideas stay in the mind whereas not so great ones tend to die a natural death.
says:
I really enjoyed reading this post and briefly reviewing the great ideas I have had that met either timely or untimely deaths. IMO your last three points are right on.
says:
I enjoyed reading your post on this holiday Monday. Y took the time to review some great ideas I have previously had that bit the dust. I also spent a few moments thinking about my newest ones and how to nurture them. Your final three points spoke to me. Thanks for sharing this post with others.
says:
Excellent post!
I think I must stop killing my ideas! :-)
says:
Your ideas about ideas are good points. But the coy-sarcastic approach has limited novelty. Stay in character like Ben Stein's book. Skip the patronizing 'just let your idea take off [like an unstoppable bird that represents your hopes and dreams]. Or go for authentic with quotes from 'insiders' and revelatory statement.
says:
It is one thing I like about Microsoft. They may not be most innovative company but they definitely have an amazing perseverance.
says:
Dude you're killing his style in the same way people kill ideas… Somewhat ironic :)
says:
Thanks for the input, Joseph. I suppose the novelty hasn't quite worn off for me yet :) But I'll be on the lookout next time!
says:
Not-so-great ones are like lightning – one brief flash of light and then total darkness :)
In all seriousness, though, I agree with you. Simplicity is surprisingly hard to achieve, especially when you're passionate about something. For me, it's taken a lot of practice and a lot of learning things the hard way.
says:
I'm glad you found it helpful! And thanks for stopping by.
says:
Heh, I first read it as “Strip away the lawyers”, which would deffinatly de-complicate the idea as well! :-)
says:
great article on 'how to not kill an idea'
says:
Jeffrey,
This is a fun, lively and idea-filled blog post. Thanks.
I like many of your comments throughout the post… but found this to be especially important: Ideas change the world. … and … Don’t hide your ideas away.
I look forward to reading more in the BeyondFreelancing blog.
Thanks much.
Joanne Maly, Lincoln Maly Marketing, Cincinnati, Ohio
and writer of the 'Simply Said' blog
says:
Another great SATIRICAL article….I must say when I have a great idea it just runs through my mind all day and even in my sleep as I think of ways to actually implement the idea.
You do bring up a great point about great ideas, when I run into the financials it is overwhelming but I think by splitting things up into small little progressions (goals) things won't seem as overwhelming especially with the finances. By breaking your idea into small little ones you can accomplish your goals and not feel so overwhelmed. By breaking the idea up you also have a clear path to which direction you want to go…it acts as a guide. again keep on writing jeffrey tang
qubeshop.com
blog
says:
Haha, that's some good subconscious advice right there!
says:
Inspiring, so many ideas dead in the idea cemetary.
Ideablob.com is a cool place/way to share ideas btw.
says:
One accomplishment I have today is reading this encouraging post of your. It makes me stick on pursuing my great ideas that I have in my mind. Actually, they are words waiting to be penned down. :-)
says:
Jeffrey,
There's a lot to think about here. I agree that great ideas can be bludgeoned to dealth. As you say,
“…where will you find such a vast supply of discouragement? Pretty much everywhere. Closed-minded bosses, government bureaucrats, lazy college friends, disillusioned businesspeople, jaded teachers – all these are great sources of limitless “NO.”
It occurs to me also that some truly great ideas are dangerous, so part of the reason to kill off a great idea is to protect yourself from the consequences of putting it forth. Think Galileo or Darwin. Fortunately, each of them had the courage to put out an incredible new idea
and to nurture it and support it in spite of the consequences.
says:
To some extent, I thnk great ideas are always dangerous to the status quo in some way … even if they don't challenge the foundations of scientific dogma. But that's a good thing! What do you think?