Great Ideas: Is It Better to Follow Inspiration or Choose Proven Paths?
It’s great ideas that produce moonshots; at the same time, most entrepreneurs agree that it’s not about the concept; it’s the execution that determines success.
Today’s world pushes us into wanting more and alleviate ourselves from our current state. What can this do to us and our lives? Should you go where the flow of inspiration takes you, or should you follow a proven path?
You won’t know for sure until you have tried and seen the result. However, if given a choice, it makes sense to try and quantify the good and the bad parts of each, before choosing between creative ideas or proven paths.
Following your ideas
Creating something new is a challenge and most of us like challenges. Some people believe that new ideas are the only ones that will work because of their freshness. But this reason is not good enough for a plan to flourish.
When going down this road, prepare ahead and know the possibilities your path may lead. Do not show too much confidence, or you’ll be extra disappointed by likely failures along the way. Don’t begin in a pessimistic light, or you will fail without even starting—the best entrepreneurs balance positivity with a humble disposition.
If you visualise success, you’re more likely to achieve it. That brings you more confidence in yourself and your capacity. Visualisation is such a powerful thing, and it represents a big part of why everything works out. Believing in yourself, and visualising positive results will increase your confidence. However, visualising means nothing without the right path on track. But is this enough for a business to grow? Don’t you need a plan? Have a clear map to follow to your success.
Do not let anyone get you down. While businesses take time to make money, people may underestimate the potential your business or your ideas have. It has been demonstrated over and over that it takes time, commitment, and hard work to raise a company off the ground.
Pros
- New ideas will always pop up in creative people’s minds. They’re compelling and exciting.
- You might struggle more in the early stages of your project before you see success, but results are likely to be better in the long run.
- You’ll have a better sense of accomplishment when you come up with a solid idea and succeed at it.
- Starting with your dream gives you more chance of getting deeply involved, of making it your own and crafting every little thing about the business.
- You can shape it any way you want without involving others, as they do not know your plan.
- You will not be side-tracked. Your ego will meet less resistance, as it is your plan, your creation.
Cons
- If an idea pops up and you’re not able to execute it correctly, the whole process may go to waste.
- Failure will feel worse if you follow your creativity. Others, perhaps most won’t ‘get it’.
- You may lose the confidence you struggled to have.
- The guilt of letting your family down is worse in this case.
- The work you put into it is more significant than in a proven path business.
- You may lose your courage to try something new again.
- You’re likely to fail, look back and realise that you were crazy to even try.
When creating your path, pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. If you see that something had a good impact, repeat it. If it didn’t, create a new way and see how it better works for you. You can learn from yourself.
Sometimes, the things you are scared of but intuitively think will work turn out the way you expect them to. That is when maximum satisfaction occurs.
The strategy is essential for your success. To have a good outcome, have a plan in place to follow. At the same time, be ready to adjust the sails during your voyage.
Choosing a proven path
While choosing a proven path will not guarantee your success, many people would rather choose this more straightforward plan of action. They’re the same people who would one day be awakened to the reality that copying successful people won’t necessarily make you a successful person. While following a proven path may be a comfort zone, it’s not a sure answer for success.
To achieve the same success as previous entrepreneurs, know the difference between you and them, between what you have put into your business and what they did. Let’s explore the pros and cons of choosing a proven path.
Pros
- You feel reassured that if it worked once, it’d work again.
- You have that positive feeling that’s important when starting a business.
- You can tweak a sure thing, to make it even better.
- You can learn from other peoples mistakes.
- You have a clear path to follow—you cannot get sidetracked.
- Your plan is more straightforward—ticking each part of this path may get you faster to results than an idea that has never been used before.
- You don’t have to do so much work and research beforehand.
Cons
- It is dangerous to compare yourself to others’ success stories. If you don’t get the same results in the same amount of time, you might feel there’s something wrong with you.
- The proven path’s business values may not be the same as yours. Have well-defined core values that you truly believe in and follow.
- Copying a plan without believing in it is bound to yield negative results. You won’t be able to create a good connection between your yourself, your business, and your clients.
- You may get overconfident it works and not put enough work into it. Expect failure in this scenario.
It’s been said that the best and easiest way to success is to follow the path successful people have taken. It’s a challenge to be able to apply the same route to yourself. That’s where the tricky part is.
You can read some proven facts, get inspiration from success stories, but that doesn’t mean you have to follow each step. Make it your own success story, one that you believe in.
The only thing that will make you more likely to be successful is by working hard. There’s rarely such thing as being wealthy without working your ass off for years. (If you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’d know already!)
Don’t merely copy successful people; use them as a guide. Identify their behaviours, both the good and the bad. Use those behaviours as a learning tool. That way, you can shape your business as your own. Awareness increases your likelihood of success.
Working hard is essential, but you have to take some time off too. Taking plenty of breaks gives you the space to think and see a new perspective. You can recalibrate and think of new ways to improve your game plan.
People are generally creative. It’s creativity that urges them to start their own business. They’re tired of working for other people, following their rules, suppressing innate creativity. Many great ideas are floating around. But the question is, how many of these great ideas make enough money for you to live your desired lifestyle? Is it worth the risk? Do you have a backup just in case of failure?
Know your true potential without comparing yourself to others. When desiring to pursue new ideas, know that great ideas aren’t great if you’re not making money out of them. After all, isn’t this the end goal?
