Tag Archives: thought

Six Words to Make Ideas Scale

ScaleIdeas are born everyday–big ideas, little ideas, ideas born from one person and ideas born through thought and application. What makes one idea stand out from another and what makes the idea stick, gain traction and create a movement? Here are six words to help make ideas scale:

1.  Fire: Someone recently offered me some good advice. The said the key to “success” was to always know your end goal. The more you fuel this goal, the more you’ll believe in it and the more you’ll believe in yourself. A blogger I truly admire has been chewing on this lately, and you may relate–I know I did. For me, it’s not just a case of knowing my end goal, but knowing why that’s my end goal. To me, the why over rides the what and is what will drive success. We all have goals–but why do you have them? That is the tougher question, and that is what will get you through the droughts.

2.  Simplify: Life is complicated enough–people don’t need more complication. Identify ideas that simplify tasks (without the use of a 30-slide power point to explain it). Identify ideas that are focused. Here’s a sign that you have overcomplicated your idea: You experience paralysis by analysis. This is a problem for tenant number 2–because it stops you from executing.

3.  Stop: We’ve heard of growing pains. There will come times that you may need to stop. This could mean that you need to simplify the juggling act. Or, it may mean that you stop a product line or stop the way you do something and find a new way. It could mean that you need to stop starting new ideas–and re-focus back on the original idea. As, if we keep starting new ideas all the time–then we aren’t committing to what our end goal is and are spreading the fire too thin.

4.  Execution: My mom always told me, “Don’t try. Do.” Take two seconds and reflect on what you’ve been doing and what you want to be doing. Do you see how much “trying” sneaks up on us? Chris Brogan recently wrote about this in his e-newsletter as well. For those that want to do, we need to eliminate try. Those that make ideas become realizations, just do it. There might be success and there may be failure. But they did it. They learned, and they keep on doing.

5.  Build: There are an infinite number of ideas right? Well, there are perhaps just as many people coming up with those ideas. You see–lots of people are “ideas people.” Everyone seems to have the next big idea or the next big thing. Repeat this to yourself: Being an ideas person does not make you different and will not bring success. If anything, this means you need to connect with more builders. Builders are people that have vision while also being able to plan and make it happen. Builders are the people that fill in the gaps, aren’t afraid of getting messy, and are resourceful.

6.  Contagious: Be contagious–in your thinking, speaking, doing and giving. It’s important to note that being contagious happens naturally–it’s not forced. You and your idea can also be contagious without you knowing it–at any time of the day. So be on the lookout for opportunity, for fellow builders, and fuel for the fire, you never know what might happen. As Seth Godin says, “Great ideas aren’t anointed, they spread through a groundswell of support.”

Bonus Track: These aren’t rules, but they are guidelines. If you like rules, then check out Seth Godin’s post “Rules for Ideas Worth Spreading.” My fav: “Don’t poll your friends. It’s your art, not an election.” Or, check out the book “Made to Stick” to learn some more words to help your ideas spread. Now, go build your fire.

What words help you focus and make ideas scale?

flickr credit: maniwa_pa

What Coffee Has to Teach Us about Adversity

 

 

With the economic hardships–both current and foretold–upon us, the coffee we drink every morning offers up a daily reminder of the hope we can find. The following is an email my mother sent to me, that offers the following challenge: In times of adversity, how do you respond? Are you a carrot? An egg? Or coffee?  I promise, you will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

 

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        A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
 
        Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first, she placed carrots; in the second, she  placed eggs; and in the last, she placed ground coffee beans . She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

         In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the  coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

        “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

         Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

          Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The  ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

          “Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

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Activity.  Think and reflect. In times of adversity? How do you react?

  • Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
  • Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes  with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit,  but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial,  have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff  spirit and hardened heart?
  • Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot  water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is th e darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle  adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

“May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.”

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