
*Who stole your ideas?*
*Ideas; do they really rule the world?*
I remember some few months ago while working on a client’s document, I needed to infuse the thoughts about how great it was for people to have great ideas and how powerful they were in making the world a better place. While I processed this thought in my mind I asked myself, do ideas really rule the world?
This internal dialogue continued for a while and I remembered the popular expression that ideas are a dime for a dozen simply put – ideas are everywhere.
I concluded this thought by saying that “It is not ideas that rule the world but their execution and follow through to tangible products that rule the world”.
About three months ago, I had an idea on how to spur more innovation in medicine by organizing a tech and medicine meetup that would be concluded by a hackathon. I took the first step my meeting a senior friend who currently is a technical consultant at Andela and worked previously for a health technology company. He asked me a few questions which I did not have answers to at that time. Rather than find answers, refine the idea and keep pushing the idea to a point of fruition. I forgot about it.
Few weeks back I saw a poster with CC Hub as one of the sponsors for a health meets tech event that would be ended by a hackathon. I smiled to myself and said “that would have been my event”. No doubt I learnt my lessons and I am writing this so that you will learn too.
Forget anything like “someone stole my idea”. The world’s population is currently put at about 8 billion and when an idea comes to you the truth is that many other people have it too. The scientists call it the universal mind. The man of faith may want to explain it as God trusting us with the seed of ideas and supplying all we need to develop it into fruition.
So when next you have a brilliant idea or thought, don’t go all out looking at how impossible it is or how much funds you need to execute it. Take the following steps and I am sure you are on your way to execution and making the world benefit from your idea.
1. *Write it down*: We grew up hearing that the faintest pen is sharper than the brightest brain. Ideas are sometimes very volatile and need to be trapped down. Personally I am always with my note pad or a pen and sometimes when I am not, I trap my thought my typing them as a message on my phone.
Writing it down also makes it easy for you to break down the idea into actionable steps. Personally I discovered that putting my ideas on paper helps me to easily recognize the resources I have to execute them.
2. *Make a move* : Ideas are dynamic. They grow and they change, and you would only realize this when you make moves to execute them. As you take baby steps in the execution of your idea, you would think you have it all figured out until more ideas that will complement what you already have begins to pop up. When people talk about luck, I believe it works for those who make a move. I remember working on a pet project few months back, I never knew what started as a small idea and a very small step in execution has so much potential that would turn out to open doors , and I would never had known if I didn’t make a move.
3. *Form a team* : Chances are that you cannot execute your idea alone as it grows. Forming a team of trusted and skilled friends would give you a better mileage. While some know that this is good for them, they rather go execute their ideas alone for fear of someone else stealing their ideas.
Truth is that there is a limit to which you can run when you run alone. Together Every Body Achieves More. Even if you fear that someone else will steal your idea, your personality and execution makes a big difference to the final outcome.
4. *Execute to the “fullest maximum”* : Execute! Execute!! Execute!!! You would definitely face challenges, sometimes the daunting challenge of having to write proposals and fix meetings. You have started, don’t give up. The truth is that even if you fail you must have learnt something coming this far with your idea.
You have a lot to give the world than you can imagine, go work on your ideas…
“Idea that they did not execute, is that one idea” looooool
*Share if found useful*
Mamora Olaoluwa O.
pharmlaolu@gmail.com