Great Ideas… We all have them and it feels great to have a great idea. There is a momentary high that feels almost as good as having actually accomplished something. This is a dangerous feeling. I say this because having an idea is the easy part. Delivering on that idea is difficult.

Personally, I tend to wade in the realm of ideas a bit too much instead of trudging through action land. I know I am not the only one because there is an entire industry of self-help type books, CD’s and other merchandise that are all about productivity. I am usually pretty cynical about that kind of stuff, but have found a few things on the web that are interesting and that I’ve found helpful. So, if you’ve ever sat on a story idea too long before pitching it or had an idea for a video, website, blog post, or novel bouncing around your head for years, please continue…

First is a talk given by Merlin Mann, writer and creator of 43folders. His talk, entitled “Doing Creative Work,” is brought to you by the highly enjoyable Sound of Young America. He’s very funny and the whole podcast is worth hearing but the most important lesson I learned was this: For any project you are contemplating, chances are that you already know 90% of what you need to get started, so start.

The Sound of Young America

Next, a rather recent discovery for me is 99%. Their name comes from the Thomas Edison quote, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Apparently the website just relaunched but there seems to be a lot of useful stuff here. This talk by entrepreneur and writer Seth Godin from the site is a little scattered but has some gems. The basic idea is that we need to quiet the negative voices in our heads that sabotage our productivity, which he attributes to “the lizard brain.”

Finally, it’s time to laugh. If you’ve never heard the comedy of Katt Williams, I highly recommend you check it out. He is very funny and his routines cover many topics, but I have noticed the occasional life lessons he likes to dole out. One thing he introduced me to was the idea of hustlin’. The word has many connotations but in this case, it is about adopting a certain mental attitude and applying it to any project or job you might have. The following clip should make it clear. There is also a bit on his Pimp Chronicles Pt.1 dvd that covers the idea of pushin’ that I found inspiring, but alas I could not find a short clip.

Now that you’ve wasted all this time watching web videos, get to work on that great idea of yours!