Help getting over the ideas 'hump' and sustaining interest
Hi IH - I'd be grateful if anyone has advice with how to get past not finding any of your business concepts interesting enough to develop and build (after the initial excitement phase).
Sure many of you can relate to notebooks full of concepts/self-reflection, but little in the way of long-term stamina and drive to execute.
Any suggestions welcome!
@GNaylor , man, oh man, you are walking in shoes that everyone has been in. That tightrope between validation/affirmation and self-doubt/delusions of granduer.
The pain of not doing it has to be greater than the pain of pulling it off. By that, I mean, the only way to keep your enthusiasm level at an all time high is to really and truly believe in what you are doing. There has to be a fire inside your belly that keeps the motivation engine running. It's damn hard when you're unsure, feeling dejected, etc. Look internally and externally for inspiration; ignore the self-doubt and the naysayers; broaden your perspective through the eyes and minds of others; never ever stop believing in yourself.
I know it all sounds trite, but it is true. Sometimes success is just a series of miserable missteps until you hit a groove and everything clicks, almost by design.
Damn right.
Imagine still stuck in your cubicle cell dealing with corporate BS 5-10 years from now...
Oh yeah....ugh! You cannot grow a self-actualized and successful human in a CubeFarm with false lighting and no nutrients. It just won't happen!
Yup, nothing but slow death by fluorescent lighting.
What a sad and tortuous way to go...
Thank you for the advice - it's definitely comforting to know that you're not alone in experiencing the self-doubt. I'll certainly put more focus into internal/external inspiration, and pay more attention to the pain of not acting needing to outweigh the pain of pulling it off!
No problem! 🙃
I'd argue that you're looking for the wrong thing to build momentum. "Excitement" is just one of the many extreme emotions that tend to lead to unhealthy or even bad business decisions.
Rather than looking for something you're excited about, my advice would be to look for people who want/need help, that you have the ability to help. Nothing creates the feeling of sustained momentum like a feedback loop of people saying "THANK YOU!"
The beauty of this approach is, it doesn't rely on any specific idea, and even lasts beyond a single idea's success or failure because it helps you put the focus on the people you serve, instead of spending time alone in your head with an idea trying to get excited.
A few related posts you might find helpful:
https://stackingthebricks.com/13-business-failure-modes/
https://stackingthebricks.com/how-do-you-stay-motivated-when-youre-not-making-any-money/
https://stackingthebricks.com/dont-fave-this-post/
Awesome set of resources, and an inspiringly different way of building business-building momentum.
Baby steps. Validate idea with others. See if their excitement gives you excitement. Validate basic prototypes. See how people react. And so on... Maybe you can increment excitement for your ideas that seem to have desirability to potential customers.
Thanks @armgitaar, definitely need to work on co-validation of concepts/prototypes. Love the idea of incremental excitement and using other peoples enthusiasm to leverage my own.