Step up, Do more, Be more!

New ideas drive growth but coming up with new ideas is not an easy task. We know that. By the way, we are not talking this creativity – “Awww, beautiful, how do you make such great slides?”, “Thankssss J, I moved the boxes on the right to the left, that changes the look and feel.” “Brilliant, you always have something new. Let’s go for a coffee, you deserve a break”. Naah

We are interested in drawing a picture on a blank canvass and answering questions such as what to draw? How is it different from other images? And if it is so new and unique, how will people relate to it? Most importantly, how much value does it add to the system?

Now the crucial aspect is to come up with the overall theme, the vague image, or the central idea. To do that you need to recognize and retain 2-3 interesting ideas out of hundreds of random ideas revolving in the head. Generally best of the ideas strike when the body is in motion – running, walking, swimming (all these are lonely sports where one can think). Now, suppose you came up with two thoughts – girls are more responsible than guys; discipline is freedom (only the latter is true ).

That’s it, you have an overall idea. From here on, all the hard work begins. These ideas are just seeds. To produce fruit, you have to grow a plant out of a seed. And how does that happens? Through a lot of effort. You plough the land, water the seeds, remove the weeds, and then wait for the harvest.

Nurturing ideas follows the same process. You have to hold on to the idea and drive your mind to the point of exhaustion – Is there a need? What is the need? What is the solution? Many answers will sound interesting. You will plan/write a great deal to develop the central idea.  You will be happy with your effort and retire in bed. Then you get up in the morning to find out that the last night work doesn’t make sense. That’s normal. Don’t get dishearten or try to make the bad things work. Weeds are weeds, recognise them and remove them. Keep improving – ploughing and watering and weeding out – during the limited time at hand.

Then the hardest part begins – Anticipation. Will you see the harvest? Will your idea work? Only time can tell. The thing that enables a person to experiment with the new in face of uncertainty is confidence. And the price for that level of confidence is a lot of prior hard work, effort.