What Makes An Idea Great or Fail

Every great product, every great invention, every great comfort, every great policy, every great solution to a problem, that man has associated himself with, has taken it's birth from a figment of his imagination. 'Ideas', as we know it, has often been that point of intersection of Philosophy and Science, interest and passion, Love and War, and at times, Luck and hard-work. People become famous or infamous based on their ideas. Everyone of us has ideas but what is it about an idea that makes 'Great'? Do ideas get created by accidents of is it a the fruit of a well planned course of action and hardwork? How can one go about mastering the thought process of idea-ting?

Here, I will just list a few Do's and Dont's that I feel are the reasons for the success or failure of an IDEA. I don't intent to talk about the 'Tipping point' for ideas as I guess Malcolm Gladwell has already done that with pretty convincing facts. But what i would like to highlight here is our attitude towards ideas. I may miss out a lot of points here because,let me be honest, I promised a friend that I would blog tonight. Nevertheless, these words are right from my ever idea-ting mind.

OK!! Lets get started!!!!

1. Feed the philosopher in you



Give philosophy it's due respect. Engage in conversations regarding philosophy. After all, it's philosophy that is responsible for almost everything around us. Even the clothes we were is a result of some great philosophical thinking. Philosophy often deals with asking questions and justifying beliefs. If you ask me, I feel philosophy is what drives science to come out with explanations. And when you start questioning things, you often tune your mind to an alternate thinking which my friend, is the ignition to a idea-ting mind. So give it your full respect.




2. Stay away from addiction



Try not to get addicted to anything. this includes drugs, alcohol, electronic gadgets and even work. An article, Why I returned my Ipad, that I read in the Harvard biz review might give you a better idea



3. Never share you idea while it's at its natal stage



try not to talk about your idea to anyone when you have just thought about it. There is a high chance that it might get killed before it takes shape.Derek Sivers seems to have a valid explanation for it when he talk about Keep your golas to yourselves here



4. Do not sell an Idea if you don't believe in it



This is definitely a no-no as you might just end up killing a good idea that you failed to understand



5. Don't waste time



Start working on your idea right from the time of inception. This is very critical as the world has reached a state where Time-To-market takes priority and if you wait, you will be late.



6. Invest in a hobby, passion or recreation



Dont be addicted to one thing. By this I also mean that one must never get addicted to his or her idea. take your mind of and explore various other avenues. They are perfect boosters for generating more ideas



7. Good Company



Maintain a group of enthusiastic buddies. Refrain from spending too much time with pessimists and hypocrites. People have a great influence on your ideating process. So choose your company cautiously. Encourage criticism but ignore pessimism.



8. Never Under-estimate an Idea



This is an all important rule. develop an attitude where you appreciate ideas. Any idea, good or bad, is still and idea.Try to make an idea better instead of killing a few before they are born.



9. And the most important one, Never stop idea-ting