Every day someone takes action on secret knowledge you hold dear. They’re using that knowledge you think you’re so clever to have to start a business, publish a book, and gain a loyal following.
I’ve been there. I hate seeing people get credit for ideas I’ve had for a long time. I also hate seeing people create great businesses using “my ideas”.
But what I hate most is forgetting that if I don’t take action someone else will.
If I don’t create something using “my ideas”, someone else will. If I don’t write that essay or build that business, someone else will. In my own lack of action, the world doesn’t stop turning, it keeps moving on without me.
So why do I and other people stop executing?
I’d argue a common reason why is we become satiated. We take pleasure from our ideas’ novelty or ingenuity. As soon as we’re self-satisfied, we drop the ball. Feeling good about our ideas kills the urgency to take action.
No matter how novel our ideas are, if they solve meaningful problems, the world will eventually discover them.
So do yourself and the world a favor and take action on your “good ideas”. Your ideas might not work, your efforts may fail, but you’ll have a more interesting life and fewer regrets to thank for it.