When is it Time to Put Your Idea in A Box, Nail it up, and Bury it for Good?
Good question! It’s a tough question, really. I revisited this question last night when I told a fell entrepreneur of mine to “bury your idea.” Geezz! Dave… why would you tell her such a thing? Well, because the idea simply went sour and it wasn’t something that she was super passionate about doing, so when I see that happening — when I see an idea sucking the blood out of someone — I try to relieve them of that burden.
[What is this idea week or something? Yeah, we have been discussing ideas a lot this week. I think this is the third article on ideas so far. Oh well… rock on!]
If I were to name the top poison pill for young entrepreneurs, it would be “ideas.” Seriously, I’ve seen ideas kill the entrepreneur. We are like machines when it comes to ideas and many of us never know when to just start focusing on one. We want to do it all.
So what happens when we want to do it all? What happens is that we sometimes fall into a trend of focusing on “so-so” ideas that we may not really be extremely passionate about; but we push forward with them anyway.
As time passes we grow more and more distant with the idea. It begins to become a burden. It haunts us. It keeps us awake at night. It brings tons of stress and worry. But we push on, knowing that the idea really isn’t in our heart. We push on because we think — as entrepreneurs — that we should never quit or give up on something.
Well I’m here to challenge that notion about quitting and giving up. Yes, we should be quitters and give up on things in life. Just because we’re entrepreneurs, it doesn’t mean we have this “never-give-up” law up imprinted in our souls.
Sure, if an idea turns into a mess and begins to bring unhappiness into your life, then get rid of it. Bury that baby! It’s perfectly fine to give up on an idea and push forward with something else.
Think of yourself as an scientist… actually, don’t think of yourself as one — you are a scientist. And as a scientist you are going to explore and experiment and fail. Some of your ideas will be solid, some weak, and some “so-so.”
But here’s the thing: you need to learn how to quickly get out of a “bad” idea and start searching for a “good” idea right away. The key here is to find an idea that you can focus on and truly explore for, well, the rest of your life possibly. But, if you continue to keep yourself trapped in a series of “so-so” ideas that are eating up your energy, creativity, and well-being, then you are going to be the demise of yourself — your entrepreneurial journey.
Learn when it’s time to put the nails in the coffin and bury your bad ideas. Learn this now and learn it fast. It’ll push your forward as an entrepreneur and there will be less weight on your shoulders. And the less weight on your shoulders, the easier it’ll be for you to move the world.
3 Comments
Sharat Thakur
June 14th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
There is a very thin line which decides when to quit and when to continue with your idea. I have seen instances in the past where the point where people had given up, was actually where their fortunes could have been made.
But I agree to some extent that if your idea is killing yourself, then its better to get rid of it and think about something else. After all failure of one idea is not the end of the world…
lawrence
June 14th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
interesting question to ponder…
basically consider the “opportunity costs” in your current situation, and of course - the balance sheet of your business.
if you’re analyzing various business opportunities, and some appear to be more fruitful than what you’re currently doing…and your current business seems only so and so, if not out of the red yet - just maybe that’s a sign to do a switch
the key is to be agile, agile enough to realize yourself objectively and where you stand in life
David Askaripour
June 17th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Good point, Sharat. I, too, believe that most people quit right when they are in the brink of success. I think that if something is in your heart, then go for it 100% and never give up no matter what.
Lawrence.. yeah opportunity cost is a great variable to consider when deciding to throw in the towel. Yup, flexibility is essential!
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