The Idea Problem
Ideas are a burdensome thing. It's human nature to feel that something we thought of - an insight into the world - is an important thing and somehow unique, so we horde our ideas. We grow them, we ponder them, and then, after a brief amount of time, we forget them. With every idea conceived, played with, and then abandoned, there's a feeling of failure. One's inner voice pesters, suggesting that, with just a bit more time, or a bit more gumption, the idea could be implemented and developed and could save the world (or at least make one's life a little bit better). Still, there's no time for all of that, and most ideas just fall by the wayside.
I'm plagued by ideas that never go anywhere. Yet they are nowhere to be found when I actually need them. When given an opportunity to actually put some ideas to practice (and to make money doing so), I draw nothing but blanks. I simply can't remember any of the supposedly brilliant ideas I've had over time. The level of brilliance becomes doubtful, and my confidence in my memory deteriorates.
There's a common belief in the start-up community that ideas are worthless. You can and should share them since most people will simply acknowledge the idea's awesomeness (or, more heartbreakingly, dismiss it), in almost the same moment as they forget about it. It's the passion to implement that makes an idea become powerful, and that passion typically comes along with the envisioning. Despite the obvious truth behind this, there persists a niggling feeling that sharing an idea somehow gives other people the opportunity to steal your idea and to get there first with the implementation.
So I don't share, and I forget.
So the idea of the moment is to keep track of my ideas using a less transient form of storage. My feeble memory has proven it can't be trusted with the task. This definitely will save the world (or at least make my life a little bit better).
An excellent idea, indeed. I should do something about it.
Maybe.
