I need to be careful that I do not repeat myself by writing this article. I´m pretty sure that I have already mentioned the core meaning of the headline within several articles here. However, I have obliged myself to start writing about my thoughts once they arise. So I have to go through it.
It can be done
Due to my broaden fantasy I call myself as a person who has several ideas. I do not lack of imagination of what could be done. Sometimes I feel that there are endless opportunities. For example, nowadays it´s cheap to travel the world. At least when compared to several decades ago. That´s why for a lot of people the idea of traveling the world is not far away. It´s realistic. It can be done. Another example, the internet provides us with all the essential tools to create new businesses. It´s not that I lack of imagination of what could be done in terms of business. It´s more a challenge to focus on one or two aspects rather than getting lost in my ideas.
And this brings me to the headline: Idea vs. Implementation. I´m writing this article to remind myself that everyone can talk about his or her ideas. I could write a novel. I could record songs. I could travel the world. I could „this and that“. Then I´m asking myself: Are you doing it? If the answer is no, then I´m asking myself: So why are you talking about it? Everyone can talk. Talking is not an effort. Probably people talk so much because it´s so effortless. It´s also risk-free. I consider these as two important aspects which can keep a person caught in the comfort zone. Avoiding the effort. Avoiding the risk. For which reason? I´m safe.
No one cares…
The turning point in that story comes with the conclusion that the reward on implementation is much bigger rather than talking about ideas. It´s kind of a natural law. What requires effort will be rewarded. What requires no effort will not be rewarded. The more people do of the same thing (e. g. talking about ideas) the less reward is in it. Only a few people master the challenge of implementing their ideas. That´s why there´s great reward in it. Because less people do. There´s a song line on my wall: „No one cares about the waves at the bottom of the ocean.“. It does not require huge brain capacity to understand the meaning behind this line. That´s why I put it on my wall once I had listened to the song for the first time. Because it´s so intuitive. It´s direct and clear. No opportunity for misinterpretation.
So all of the ideas which are not being implemented, they´re all the waves at the bottom of the ocean. People are only interested in the magic above the water. They gather for the next hook (with „hook“ I´m referring to that remarkable part in a famous song. Take „hook“ as a synonym for everything that´s „special“ or „extraordinary“.). They strive for the next situation which is being bumped up by the media. The worst joke of our time is the constant framing that times are insecure and not running in a smooth way. If one day media reports will stop with that kind of framing I bet that several people will recognize that „times“ are exactly the same like they have always been.
Boredom and too much information
If ten years ago some asked me: What are you bored of? I responded: I´m bored of nothing. Every situation and every person is unique and therefore interesting. Maybe that answer sounded nice. But for sure it was not thought out to the end. If nowadays someone asks me: What are you bored of I have several examples in my mind. For example, I´m heavily bored of the critics of an ETF investment. There are so many American securities in there. In addition, you have a currency risk. Aren’t you afraid that one day the stock market will decrease? I cannot listen to it anymore.
So yes. Times are changing. But not in a way how media reports about it. Knowing about this gives me a very comfortable feeling. It makes me feel relaxed. Probably I´m also bored of people who do not have a separator between stimulus and reaction. I´m bored of people who let themselves being emotionalized by everything. In no way I want to judge about them. Probably they´re doing it the right way as it fits their personality. But I cannot stand it anymore.
And this finally brings me to the third thing which I´m bored of. I assume that I´m heavily bored of thinking and talking about my ideas rather than implementing them. To be fair, it´s not that I do not implement anything. But when I give attention to my mind I recognize that I´m still not in a mood of taking immediate action. Maybe that´s due to what I have called „separator“ previously. The point is, I have a strong separator in my mind. This means that a strong barrier needs to be crossed if all the stimulus which affects me wants to turn into a reaction. Basically most of the time I assess and judge every stimulus which I´m confronted with. I constantly compare my behavior with the behavior of other people. I often say that I do not care what people think about me. But probably partially it´s not true. For example, I concentrate and focus on not to look like a complete idiot when I´m in public. On the other side, if someone calls me „idiot“, it´s true that I do not care. So why do I spend time on controlling my behavior when I even do not care about the outcome?
My strong barrier
To sum it up, I never stop reflecting and thinking about the pros and cons of an idea. This „overthinking“ is what I call that strong barrier. When I observe people in daily life for myself I have drawn the conclusion that there´s a huge amount of people out there who do not have such a strong barrier in their mind. Call it careless, mindless or maybe to name it in a more positive sense, maybe they´re simply more open to risk. They´re open to risk because they are not aware that there´s a risk. They simply do not think about it. That´s why they do not have to be afraid of the consequences of their behavior. Because they do not think about their behavior. They do not reflect their behavior. I do not care, is what I often hear from them.
In a certain way these people are pleased with a higher amount of freedom than I am. I always considered myself as being very free. But when compared to them, I´m surrounded by a golden fence which always gives me a slight electric shock if I cross it too fast. You could have done so much better. You knew what you had to do to behave properly. Do you enjoy this pain caused by these electric shocks? Why are you acting so mindless?
The contradictory circle
True entrepreneurs have one thing in common: They have implemented their ideas. Worth to mention that I will never consider ideas as „bad“ and implementation as „great“. An idea is the base for everything. It´s a core and essential aspect in the line. I have highlighted this at the top of my website: Everything starts with a thought. It reminds me that it´s all in me. If I will not do it, no one will do it. Or maybe he or she will do it. But definitely not in the way which I had preferred.
Imagination and implementation are in contrast but in the same they require each other. How does something innovative can be implemented without imagination? It´s a constant circle. If creating something innovative will be easy, everyone will do. But only a few do. Because it requires effort. The waves on the water, sometimes they are small. Sometimes they become huge. Sometimes they are in a relaxed mood. Sometimes it´s stormy weather out there. But they have one thing in common: They draw our attention. Because they´re above the water. No matter if the wave is a small one or a huge one. No matter if the wave is in a relaxed mood or getting hit by a storm. We watch it and we think about it. It´s visible. It offers us. It´s present.
Holy words
Due to these reasons it´s much easier to take care of them. And what is easy will be brought to light by the majority. Because it does not require any effort. We care about the light more than the dark. We care about the noise more than the silence.
And by taking so much care, it is how it is that no one cares about the waves at the bottom of the ocean.
Any thoughts on this can be sent privately to mail@realthoughts.me or publicly via the comment function below
Martin