Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t I explain to you how every single man made object that is or ever was on this planet started out as an idea in someone’s mind?

Someone just thought “Why don’t I…”, or “What if…” and then they took action, followed through and the thought, the idea, became reality.

We have a lot to thank those people, those visionaries for. Without any of those ideas becoming reality, we’d still be living in caves. Their ideas made the world we live in.

Do you know how many ideas there have been since man could think? No, me neither, but countless trillions, and the percentage of those ideas that did become reality must be infinitesimally small. Imagine what kind of world we might be inhabiting now if just 10% more of Man’s ideas had seen the light of day…

We all have ideas, all the time. We all act on some, but not others.

Some ideas are so straightforward that there is no doubt about the outcome: to get up, have breakfast, go to work, cross the road, buy new clothes…

We bring these ideas to reality so often that we don’t have to think about it. They become habits.

Others ideas, bigger or more important, often require deliberation, or a plan before they become reality, whilst the vast majority of ideas never, ever become realised.

Still, every idea-to-reality path follows the same route:

           IDEA>

                         IMAGINATION>

                                                                         DESIRE>

                                                                                                         DECISION>

                                                                                                                                           FOCUSED ACTION>

                                                                                                                                                                                            THE REALITY

Let me give you a fairly straightforward example:

It’s evening, you’ve had a hard day at work and you’re lounging in front of the TV watching some soap and you’re bored.

There’s nothing much else you want to do at home, then you have an Idea! “Hey,” you think, “why don’t I go out for a drink?”

Now initially, this is just a passing thought – no substance to it, but it is an option for what you could do this evening.

You begin to think about your local: the bar, your friends who go there, the music, your pal the barman, the fun you always have. What you’re doing is applying Imagination to your idea, giving it energy and bringing it to life.

You see yourself there in the bar, your friends, the chatter, the energy, the smell and the taste of the drink in your hand. It’s starting to look like a Great Idea!

Your imagination is starting to build Desire, a want and a need to be in the bar. The more you imagine your possible alternative evening at the bar, the more the Desire builds.

Nothing will happen though, until you make a Decision. You have to decide: do I go or do I stay?

Now, right here, is the MOMENT OF TRUTH. This is where you stand up and be counted. This is where you demonstrate the strength of your will, your desire, and your determination to change your current situation. It’s the MAKE OR BREAK point and it’s critical, which is why it is highlighted in red.

You could decide “YES”, and start getting ready, or you could procrastinate, and listen to Nobby, the mischievous chimp that sits on your shoulder and whispers things into your ear like ‘But it’s cold and its raining’, ‘I don’t get paid till next week and I don’t have much money’, ‘I bet my mates aren’t there anyway’, ‘My shirt needs ironing’, and ‘Can I be bothered’… You get the picture.

If you listen to Nobby long enough you will do his bidding: he’s very persuasive! A Great Idea bit the dust, and your evening remains a non-event.

However, you decide YES, and go to get showered and changed. You are now applying Focussed Action: you are turning your idea into Reality!

As it turns out, it is an even better evening that you anticipated: all your friends are there, and lots of new people. Maybe everyone was bored this evening!

You see an attractive face across the bar, lock eyes, smile, wander over to say hello, and suddenly you’re in a new relationship with a wonderful person who completely changes your life!

Or, you start chatting to someone who gives you a Great Idea for a fantastic new business…

It’s amazing how great things can come from events that were touch-and-go as to whether they happened or not.

You should follow your ideas, and most importantly you should not be put off by past experiences. Don’t let what you have become affect what you can become… sitting at home forever and a day (in any sense) will never change your world: get out there and make a difference!

Remember at the beginning when I said “Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t I explain to you how every single man made object that is or ever was on this planet started out as an idea in someone’s mind?”

Well, I followed the path, applied all the steps and you are reading the result. Hopefully this will inspire you on to greater and better things.

But it couldn’t if I had said ‘No’, could it?