[su_quote cite=”Arnold H. Glasow”]Ideas not coupled with action never become bigger than the brain cells they occupied.[/su_quote]
The other day a guy I know was lamenting about how so many of the products he sees presented on the television show SharkTank are ones he thought of “years ago” but didn’t have “the creativity to make come to life.”
His wailing was followed by a series of vitriolic statements about the contestants on the program, but were in fact barbs he was [unconsciously] aiming at himself.
Phrases like “should have” and “if only” are common parts of his daily vocabulary. Worry and anxiety are close companions. He travels frequently to the land of regret where he is always disappointed.
Needless to say, he’s not a happy man. Which is too bad, because he’s a smart guy. Just someone who’s fallen into bad mindset habits.
I get that it’s hard to see someone else make an idea you thought of come to life and turn out to be the Next Big Thing. Who among us hasn’t remarked to a companion at least once upon learning of a new million dollar product sensation hitting the market: “Hey! I thought of Pet Rocks-Chia Pets-Post-It Notes YEARS ago!”
Life is patently unfair, however. Sometimes the difference between success and failure boils down to making a decision. [Tweet this]
Those who succeed more often than not have years of failures floating about in their wake, while those who go from one year to the next with little to no change merely have bubbles fizzing and popping in theirs.
Again, the difference comes down to deciding to do something with an idea, no matter the challenges or obstacles that may be in the way of seeing it through to the end vs. letting it come and go with never another thought. Last I checked, deciding is a verb, an action word. Thinking may belong to this part of speech, too, but the problem with ideas is, if they never leave the thinking stage, they’re as good as non-existent.
Until someone else does something with one of them, making it a tremendous success.
It should come as no surprise that his friend is also a faithful lottery player, dreaming of the One Big Payoff that will “change everything.”
Of course anyone with an ounce of common sense knows how inaccurate that line of thinking is, but one thing about it is true:
Yes, One Big Payoff will change everything.
Just not the way he believes it will.
