There are so many good ideas floating around, you may forget to act on any of them.

I have no shortage of ideas. I keep a written journal, a pocket notepad, notes on my phone, voice memos, highlighted books, bookmarked websites, task lists, spreadsheets, printed documents, index cards,  sticky notes, and probably many other places I’ve stored an idea whenever it pops in my head. Most of my ideas I learned from others or were at least inspired by someone else.

My system ensures that no idea gets forgotten and that all ideas are potentially good ideas. That is, as long as I act on them.

🚀 Whatever you do to generate ideas, you better have a system in place for reviewing, filtering, prioritizing, and taking action on these ideas. Otherwise, the ideas mean nothing.

An idea is easy. When I was a child, I invented multiple billion-dollar businesses. eBay is one clear example I have in my head. Yup, I invented it when I was around 10 years old or so, but someone else started it. Actually, most businesses are not original ideas or even unique. What made them successful is that someone executed the idea better than someone else.

Maybe you're not looking for the next big business idea, maybe you just need to improve some area of your life. We all do. Fitness is a good example. Whether it’s a type of workout or a diet, there is no shortage of ideas out there that will work. It’s only a matter of how consistently you execute it. What I often see happen is that people jump around from one idea to the next without nurturing any of the ideas enough to see progress. Or they get so overwhelmed with information that they don’t know where to start, so they never start. Starting is step one to progress.

🚀 Pick an idea. Start it. Stick with it.

“Knowledge without action is meaningless.”

- Shawn Achor

“Knowledge is not power, it is potential power.”

- Napoleon Hill, Tony Robbins, Jim Kwik, Dustin Hassard ;)

More Thoughts:

Quotes are a good example of ideas being executed differently. As someone who keeps a library of thousands of quotes, there is always debate as to who said it initially. People often get credited when they just read it or a version of it from some philosopher thousands of years ago. Nothing wrong with taking one idea and improving up on it, that’s how progress is made.

One of my favorite Coaches, Dan John, says something like the first time he says a quote, he credits the author, the next time he adds “as I always say,” and then after that, it becomes his quote. I’m betting I am misquoting him, but I love that. It makes me laugh.