Connect Your Ideas
Instead of Protecting Them
As someone who has pursued their own ideas for almost a decade now, I would like to think I have a good grasp on what makes a good idea.
During my productive fumbling, I have developed my own thoughts about the initial value of an idea.
In the beginning, an idea has no value.
That’s right. Nada. Zilch. None.
Instead, the value of an idea grows with each connection it has with someone it is intended for.
There you have it. Not the most original stance, but I fundamentally believe with my entire being that protecting an idea in the beginning is just about the dumbest thing you can do.
It would be like hoarding all of the pencils in preschool with the goal of drawing the best picture.
First of all, you might not even be able to draw.
Second, the value doesn’t come from the pencil itself — it comes from the application of the pencil.
Instead, what if you shared all of the pencils with your classmates and drew one collective picture together?
OK, not the most convincing argument for adults. Let’s fast-forward a little bit.
When that lightning bolt of an idea hits you, what do you do first?
Do you jot it down? Sketch it out on paper?
Instead of keeping it for myself, I try and share my idea with the first person I can find who will listen.
I know what you’re thinking:
“What if they tell me it sucks?”
Well, they might be right.
There’s one important question to keep in mind before sharing your idea with someone else:
“Will they benefit from this idea?”
If so, then you might want to listen.
However, if your idea isn’t intended for them, then feel free to take their criticism with a grain of salt.
This is one of the toughest realizations to swallow when it comes to sharing your ideas with others — your idea isn’t meant for everyone.
If it’s a really good idea, it may drastically improve the lives of only a few people, and that’s OK.
Not all of us can create a social network that connects over 2 billion people. In fact, Mark Zuckerburg’s initial goal was to improve the lives of students on one college campus. Not even he could’ve anticipated the reach Facebook would eventually have.
In order to share our ideas with the right people, we need to create environments in which we can find them, both online and in person.
There is a reason why Viennese coffeehouses were prime breading grounds for the exchange of ideas during the 19th and 20th centuries. They were usually filled with writers, poets, artists, philosophers, and other inspired people hopped up on caffeine willing to discuss their ideas and projects.
These innovators had firsthand experience with the immense value that comes with connecting your ideas with others.
Since then, the bureaucracy of the legal world has ruined this free exchange of ideas by creating barriers (i.e. contracts and other documents).
As someone who has been burned in the past by business partners, I fully understand the necessity of protecting your well-being.
However, when it comes to sharing ideas, I am humble enough to know that I need the feedback, experience, and perspective of others who are much smarter.
Otherwise, my ideas will never be as innovative as they could be.
I don’t care what your idea is — it’s worthless until you connect it with others who know something you don’t.
William Frazier is a designer, writer, and founder who blogs about making ideas happen at The Imperfectionist. You can find him on Twitter.
