An Idea Put Into Action

An idea is a deep thought that comes to someone's mind through careful thinking, through imagining a solution to a problem that won't go away. God had an idea to create the heavens and the earth. Ideas can be great or small, funny or perfect, tall or short. They can feel far off or close enough to reach. However they arrive, write them down. If it's meant to be, it will come to pass, if not in your generation, then in the one after, as a foundation to build on.

Writing an idea down matters. An idea speaks to you, tests you, asks whether you can answer it or not. Once it's written, you carry the answer with you, even in the moments someone else is still asking the question.

An idea is a springboard, nothing more, nothing less. It's what starts you moving toward your talent. The real questions come after: who benefits from this idea, when is the right time to act on it, where does the capital come from. We become entrepreneurs the moment we put an idea into action. An idea put into action is what makes an entrepreneur, someone who acts on an opportunity, good or bad, to create something of value.

The key word is act. Action is the process of doing something, putting into motion what you've seen, thought, felt, or desired, and already written down. Without action, nothing is achieved. No value is created.

Value, to me as an artist, is the worth placed on something made by hand or by machine, an object or a finished piece, measured by the time and material poured into it. The usefulness of a brush is to paint an idea. There is beauty in an idea too, but you only see that beauty once you put it into action.

Discovering your passion matters just as much as the idea itself, because your passion is what guides you toward the right ideas in the first place. Ask yourself what you're skilled in without ever having been formally trained. That is your talent.

Moving from idea to action is not simple. You won't know everything about it going in. Creating something new takes careful thinking and real planning, because conditions change, physical, economic, political, and because most of what you're reaching for has, in some form, already been done before. Nothing is entirely new under the sun. That's exactly why the path matters more than the destination, and why guidance from those who've already walked it is worth seeking out. No one can hand you a complete step-by-step guide, but you can, and will, build success by learning from the obstacles in front of you.

There's no age limit on starting. As long as you can identify a problem and think of a solution, the door is open.

The time is now.