An Enreprenuer In Pursuit of An Idea

I think all who have had an exciting idea at one point in their lives never forgets that honeymoon feeling. When you can see it from beginning to end in your mind and are convinced 100% that it’s a winner.

For some, the feeling is so strong and so alluring that they go ahead and take it a step further. They start doing research. They bounce it off their close friends and family to gauge the possible viability. It may end there in the midst of drinks and some sobering point of view from some quarters. It’s back to more regular stuff and the exhilaration is just but a memory.

Still some go further. They do not want to look back later and realize they were onto something, but didn’t pursue it. They are still believers and want to see how far they can get. They start investing real money, real time, real social currency. They start putting together their baby. They start learning subjects that would never cross their minds otherwise. This can be a real drain on their lives, since an idea requires quite a bit of investment in personal energy to even have a chance of lasting beyond the first few months. For a number of people, this is too much. They make the tough decision to let go. Figuring that they are not willing to take resources from other areas of their lives. Maybe another time, another place.

It takes some degree of stubbornness to get this far. Perhaps even short sightedness, inexperience or naivety. But there are those that want to see where this goes. They are the ones that continue climbing the mountain because “they are already there damn it!” They have a hard time letting their investments go that easily. They still believe in the idea. They can still see its viability. They continue putting in more. But the world of ideas can be treacherous. They find themselves fighting battles in life that have little to do with their idea, but still cause a drain on resources. Layoffs, downturn in the economy, rocking of personal relationships – especially in the family. For some, this is too much. With sadness in their hearts they let go and concentrate on managing the more critical crisis in their lives.

Then we have the totally insane. Once they lock onto something, only death has a chance of prying it out of their grasp. They are not just strong believers. They are risk takers, gamblers. The higher the stakes, the more appealing the potential reward. They have the will to literally re-write the story of the planet in order to create a place for their idea. Setbacks mean almost nothing to them. They will remodel their lives, break relationships, go bankrupt in single minded pursuit of the idea. Those around them don’t know what to think. Should they be angry at them for starving so many other important life aspects or should they admire them for such maniacal persistence? It’s a tough call since you really have to be certifiably insane to be able to pull off the kind of innovations that change society. At the same time, people in need of serious help exhibit similar characteristics. For these, it’s not belief that drives them, but delusion. Escaping boring reality.

Which of these are you?