Stop Doing This! (It’s Never the Idea)

Here’s one trap that many novices fall into and never get themselves out. They focus on creating an idea and then believe that idea is their ticket to success. In reality, ideas are nothing more than empty air. Everyone has ideas. When people spend all their time coming up with ideas but never implementing any of those ideas, they’re essentially telling the world, “Hey, let me do the fun and easy part in coming up with ideas. Then you can do all the hard work implementing my ideas and give me the bulk of the money, success, and fame.”

It doesn’t work that way.

Anyone can come up with ideas. Even the best idea is worthless if no one executes that idea. The people who get jobs aren’t the ones who come up with ideas, but the ones who can implement ideas, their own or other people’s ideas.

Remember, ideas are free. Everyone has ideas and every idea you come up with is likely similar or nearly identical to the ideas of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of other people as well. “Jaws” and “Jaws: The Revenge” are both based on the same idea of a shark terrorizing people along a beach. Yet “Jaws” has become a classic while “Jaws: The Revenge” is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made.

Same idea, different execution, thus different success.

So stop thinking you need a great idea. You need a great idea AND you need to execute that idea. Ultimately, Hollywood wants people who can get things done. Coming up with ideas is easy. Implementing those ideas is hard.

If all you can do is come up with ideas, you have nothing to offer. If you can implement other people’s ideas well, you have a marketable skill that everyone wants. If you can implement other people’s ideas as well as coming up with your own, then you really have a marketable skill that people will pay for.

Stop coming up with ideas. Start implementing the ideas you already have. You’ll be far more successful in the long run.

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