The Idea Machine

 What is the idea machine?  And where does it come from?  

It starts as an inkling in the back of your head, of ideas half thought and concepts not taught.  Perhaps it's a combination of a dozen different things.  Maybe it's something you keep saying over and over again.  And often it's just a creation that came through your brain.  

When the idea machine starts working, it's best to keep track of what it is saying.  Take notes.  Do not ignore the idea machine.  I can't remember the author, but the gist is thus: what you focus on grows.  If you focus on failure, you get more failure.  If you focus on ideas, you get more ideas.  

99% of them are going to be terrible.  But that doesn't matter.  I think it was Richard Branson who said "Opportunity is like the bus.  Another one comes along all the time."  Or something like that.  It's a good point, though.  Keep developing ideas.  Keep thinking.  

How long will it take?  Longer.

That's a pretty indecisive answer.  Some of the ideas in my head have been running around since 1992.  And I still haven't brought them to fruition.  Some of the ideas just require the correct set of inputs.  So I guess the best option is to keep putting in more inputs.  

I've been listening to the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin on audio book.  It's a good book that I got from Librivox.  It's the single author version.  Though his focus was primarily on the printing business, some of his ideas are pretty good.  The focus on creating value and frugality are definitely before their time.  

But I'm pretty sure his idea for the dollar bill was not "In God we trust" it was "Mind your business".  Which for him meant a large collection of different things, and fit in his category of what he wanted to pay attention to and focus on.  

Can I be any more broad and evasive than this?  Yes, yes I can.  Because my idea machine has merged into a half formed idea.  Now it's time to start producing the content.  Because the idea is worth very little.  It's in taking the idea to execution that it becomes valuable.  And that is the long slow, dull process.  But it's going to be a process that needs to be followed.  

The idea is one thing.  And that's great.  But executing the idea and bringing it to something that exists in the physical world?  That's the wonder.

That is where the real fun is.  

But now?  Slowly off the cliff into the oblivion of creation, and towards the valley of the unknown.  Somewhere in there, there's a Seth Godin quote.