Sometimes one of the hardest things to do is to take a whisper of an idea, or a mishmash of many ideas, and bring at least one of them to fruition. You have an idea, maybe many ideas, but you just simply cannot stop the noise in your mind long enough to actually make your ideas happen. Jumping from idea to reality is really more like hopscotch than jumping from point A to point B like you do in the long jump. You need to make a lot of small jumps to get where you’re going.
Get Super Focused
It’s important to get your idea down on paper and become very clear about what your idea is. The truth is, you can keep an idea spinning around in your head for years without ever coming to any conclusions that will make your idea a reality. Once you get focused on your idea, the idea that will become a reality, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.
Develop Your Plan
Write down everything that needs to be done to make your idea a reality. Do you need to research the feasibility of the idea? Develop a prototype? Set up the infrastructure? What exactly do you need to do in a broad sense to get your idea to reality? Write down each component of your idea that needs to be done.
Create the Steps
Once you have a broad overview of all the deliverables from developing your plan, it’s time to create the steps to make each aspect become reality. For instance, in the above you could come up with the following: Write a Business Plan, Build a Website, Rent Commercial Kitchen Space, Perfect the Recipe, Test the Recipe, Get licensed. Then make step-by-step instructions for yourself (and others) to get these things done in a timely manner.
Get the Help You Need
Even if this is your idea and no one else’s, often times getting help gives you the real motivation to bring the idea to reality. You can get help in the form of actual partners, or you can hire employees or contractors to help you implement your plans. You may also need a lawyer, or expert within the area of your idea to help you navigate the laws. Most communities have small business incubators and other help available either free of charge or for a very low cost.
Take Action
Organize all steps created in chronologic order. Then simply do first things first. Jump in order from one thing to the next. As one thing is finished, move on to the next until one day, you will be done and your idea will be reality. Remember, time moves forward whether you take action or not, so you might as well take action.
By getting clear in your mind about what your idea really consists of, the plans you’ll need to make and the steps you’ll take, with the right help your new reality will be the full implementation of your awesome ideas. One idea at a time.