idea ignition
Have you ever had an idea that was so amazing that it kept you up all night? No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t get it out of your mind. And with every passing minute your brain was being blown away with possibility.
You know. It was the type of idea that instantly pumped electricity into your unassuming life, and suddenly the impossible was made possible. It excited, motivated and inspired you to do something life-changing…community-changing…world-changing. You would try to tell others about it, but they just can’t get the full picture. How could they? They couldn’t possibly understand because it was your idea…your baby. And only you could keep it alive.
This is probably the type of idea that started your business. That moment of idea-ignition contained all the wealth you have created, all the jobs you have provided and value you have given your customers. In the nanosecond it took to form the idea, you had already changed yours and others lives.
Pretty amazing huh? To think you could, at any time, have stopped the idea from exciting and motivating you. Your business may not exist right now, if you had not let that idea become reality. I often wonder, where does the idea come from? What makes it so powerful that you would take on all that risk and liability to start your company? Reflecting like this usually leads me to praising and thanking God for His provision.
Life never stays still, does it? I mean we all are trying to give life our best shot, taking our gifts and putting them to the best use. Half the time it seems we are trying to figure out how to use our God-given talents correctly. The rest half is spent trying to keep everything from falling apart. However you have managed your gifts, I’m willing to bet you’ve had some pretty amazing times.
Each of our companies contain the stories of our lives. I bet we could (and probably have) spend hours and hours talking about our business, how it started and what made it successful. Each story is unique and completely amazing. Though our entrepreneurial journeys are vastly different, one unifying factor is our momentary experience of idea-ignition. It is in that moment, a special gift had been entrusted to us. The gift of opportunity. And whenever I ask an entrepreneur about this moment, something special happens. Their eyes light up and they begin to speak reverently and thoughtfully, as if speaking of it any other way would be disrespecting something sacred. The circumstances leading up to, and immediately following, idea-ignition are different. But, in occurrence and impact, the actual moment of idea-ignition is similar among entrepreneurs. The moment is always instant, always without warning and always exciting. When you hear these types of stories, you can’t help but smile and marvel at its results.
Life can change in an instant…sometimes for the good…sometimes for the bad. When an idea comes along, don’t throw it away. Don’t let the bad side of life take away your opportunity to experience something good and amazing. Take it, hide it. The idea you have just been given is powerful enough to change lives and nations. So, protect and nurture it. And as your idea begins to grow a little, don’t rush it. Picture your idea as the rarest and most fragile of all flowers. You wouldn’t pull on it to make it grow faster. You would give it what it needs, nurture it and watch as it grow.
If you are reading this and have never experienced a life changing entrepreneurial moment and are becoming a little disheartened, I would suggest that you not give up. These things take time. An entrepreneurial moment is not something to be taken lightly. It is truly a gift from God. And a life-altering and potentially world-changing idea has the best chance of succeeding if the right things are in place beforehand. So, take this time to learn, grow and become the type of person that God can entrust with an entrepreneurial idea.
It is a heavy and awesome burden… this ability to generate wealth. As we all grow as entrepreneurs, let’s always remember the magnitude of our gift and try to live in a way that is worthy of our calling.
