[un]Original ideas

Most ideas that I come up with are not original – a quick Google search normally proves that. That can be demotivating, but it is also exciting and inspiring.

1. There are LOTS of great ideas out there. They are free and waiting for you to make them happen. There are entire websites dedicated to spreading free ideas.

2. Everything is open for improvement. Just because it has been done, does not mean that it has been done well. It might be the user interface, battery life, power consumption, size, shape, speed, connectedness, or any other thing that keeps a product from being amazing and remarkable. Often the process of improvement and constraints you create can yield their own innovations.

3. Invention is not a prerequisite for innovation. We often get hung up on the need to invent something new. It is unnecessary. Finding a new way to introduce people to an important product is as big an innovation as a new invention.

4. Action has a higher value than ideas. Ideas which are never implemented are nice ideas, but nothing else. Making something happen – actually solving a problem – improves the lives of your customers and helps to create a better world.

Stop getting hung up on the need to invent stuff, and start getting hung up on the need to create a better world (or at least make your customers world better).

Image courtesy of Paul Keller, licensed under a Creative Commons license.