How Much Are Your Ideas Worth?

Great ideas are fun!

Great ideas sound good and make you feel good. Great ideas always find their listeners.

However, an idea is quite irrelevant as long as it isn’t tested.

The testing makes all the difference. It separates the achiever from the mere dreamer. The testing is the real hard part.

Probably, one thing the testing shows is that your great idea isn’t really that great. Others had the same idea before you and didn’t find it worth the trouble to make it work out. Or they gave it some tries and failed. You should know about that, before you start working and investing your time and energy.

This requires honesty, good judgement and decidedness.

Secondly, the testing probably shows that your great idea will not be accomplished as easily and fast as you thought. You’ll have to admit that before you can make a long-term plan and prepare yourself for the process that is required.

On top of honesty, good judgement and decidedness, this requires patience and persistence.

Moreover, the testing will probably show that you are not as smart as you thought. You’ll have to admit even that, before you are willing to learn more, understand more, develop some more skills and start asking for help.

This requires humility and dedication.

Finally, the testing will possibly show that your great idea doesn’t work out the way you thought. At this point, your idea may look like a failure.

After this insight, your real work begins.

From now on, your idea requires faith.

The world doesn’t need more people announcing a thousand bright ideas. What we need is someone who is willing to stick to one idea and test it, develop it, and refine it, and never give up - until it works.

Alas! You can preach as much as you want, yet, making a disciple for Jesus is quite a different story!