Which of Your Ideas is Best? We may not have met, but I’m going to tell you your problem. Have a seat on my couch. Please help yourself to some Red Vines. Ready? You have a head full of ideas? Constantly thinking up new projects? Yet never seem to get anything done? Why is it some nights you burst awake with an idea and a million gigawatts of enthusiasm, but a week later it’s the most boring thing you can imagine? The answer is simple: You’re creative. That doesn’t just mean you’re expressive or that you have a clever way of looking at things. It also mean you’re compulsively seeking new connections and patterns. You’re an idea junky. You love the little fix your brain gives you every time you think up something new. This is a great way to be. But it also has its drawbacks. We’re creative because we want the world to be a little different. We want our own path. We hate the dull, boring parts of life. The problem with getting anything done is that some of the things we have to do to get us there aren’t the cool parts. Writing a book and need to create backstory when you want to jump right into the plot? Want to make a movie but there’s a lack of script in the way? Want to bring life to a roles as an actor but the audition process is wearing you down? These are the most critical moments you face. Successful people find a way through. Unsuccessful people find something else shiny and new. 99% of my life has been spent chasing projects I gave up when I came up with that newer, more awesome idea. Was it really a better idea? Probably not. It only seemed more awesome because at the starting line I can’t see all the hurdles or truly understand what that lung-burning exhaustion is going to feel like when the finish line is still out of sight. For several years my daily conversation with my buddy Justin Robert Young was my new, awesome, world-changing idea. We’d drive to Taco Bell, Arby’s or Costco on sample Fridays and I’d explain my latest scheme. For the most part, I’m sure they were all quite clever. In practical terms, they were useless. Because no matter how excited I was as I explained my concept over roast beef and curly fries, it was a safe bet that in 24 hours I’d have moved on to something else. Does this sound familiar? The problem with being creative is you can come up with a million reasons to give up on something. You convince yourself you’re not quitting, you’re just going in a “better” direction. You’re fooling yourself. You want to do the new thing because you realized the old thing is hard. Great things come from getting through the hard parts. And the best solution isn’t to just “power through” them. The smart solution is to apply your creativity in a new direction on the same problem. Does your story feel boring halfway into it? What can you change earlier on to make it more exciting? Is there a way to make your character more deeper and interesting than you realized? Trying to finish a script but not making much progress? Pick ten great movies and steal one thing from each one to add into your film. Making a weekly podcast and getting bored? Change the topic to your new passion. My greatest successes have always come from the ideas I stuck to, even when I had a million better ones. Next time you’re on the verge of changing directions, don’t do it. Finish it. A completed mediocre idea is infinitely better than an unfinished stroke of genius. Now get off my couch. We have work to do. Your best idea is the one you’re working on right now.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 03:21:07 +0000
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