Unleashing the Magic Behind Successful Ideas
To the deep thinkers,
Welcome to the Deep Thinkers Newsletter: A collection of essays dedicated to going beyond the surface.
If you’re new here, check out the Deep Thinkers archive.
I used to think there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t decide on a life path.
The indecision. The lack of commitment. The failures. It all weighed on me and led me down a path of shame and insecurity.
There are days in which I still feel like this. But I’ve learned that when you are on the hunt for your purpose there will be a lot of trial and error. You will need to try and fail. You will need to reflect. And you will need to get up and try again.
Trial and error. Experimentation. Bad ideas. Failure. Pain.
When you finally figure it out, it’ll feel like magic. But life isn’t built on ideas that hit on the first try. Instead, you must venture into a field of good and bad ideas alike. You must pick one after the other and put them to the test.
It’s in the process of figuring out what doesn’t work that we can find what does work. This isn’t about dumb luck or randomness. This is about the formula for vetting your ideas and finding those magical ones—the ones that could change your life.
Understanding the formula
A magic trick is only impressive if you don’t know the formula. When you learn how a magic trick works, it loses some of its luster. You’d probably still respect the performer, but you’d likely realize the trick wasn’t impossible. There was a formula involved—a process.
The same approach should be applied to idea generation. Meaning, our attempts are the formulas we test and the outcomes are the ideas that sprout from each formula.
It’s rare to find the perfect formula on the first try. Unfortunately, this is the reason many people quit prematurely. We’ll feed ourselves ridiculous lies about how we aren’t innovative or creative. All because our first handful of ideas might belong in a gutter.
So what? Bad ideas don’t mean you’re dumb or lack creative firepower.
In fact, a bad idea in itself can be the foundation of a good idea. But in order to see it from this point of view you must put your ego to the side. Open your mind, and recognize that a bad idea is the best way, if even a tiny bit, to get to a good idea.
The path to a good idea
Do you think successful entrepreneurs are sorcerers or ethereal beings who seem to turn anything they touch into gold? Or do they simply know how to find the magic formula?
You see, successful entrepreneurs will intentionally engage with “bad” ideas. They do this as part of their process to get to the solutions they’re searching for.
In other words, they’re willing to sift through the shit to find the gold. The same gold society might claim they didn’t earn.
Look at some of the biggest companies in their space and where they started:
Apple -> computer kits
Paypal -> sending money between palm pilots
YouTube -> a dating site
You never know where an idea will take you. But without the effort to execute and without the courage to fail, how will you ever know what you’re capable of?
The most successful men, in the end, are those whose success is the result of steady accretion. — Alexander Graham Bell
The ideas that survive
When I was eight years old, I wanted to be a writer. I used to write stories all the time. But as I grew older, I developed a limiting belief that I wasn’t a good enough writer to do it for a living.
I didn’t think I could write anything that would inspire people.
So, I kept searching…
And searching…
And searching.
And after all that searching, I’ve come back to my original desire to be a writer. Sometimes we fall in love with the new, shiny thing. But some of the best ideas are the ones that stand the test of time.
First I wanted to write short novels. Then I wanted to become a sports journalist. Now, what I want is to write about my personal experiences and to help others.
You see, the process of bringing good ideas to life is like a roller coaster. There are ups and downs. Sharp turns. Moments of extreme fear, followed by moments of sheer ecstasy.
The lesson:
Just. Hold. On.
Become comfortable with the process of trying a ton of ideas and realizing many of them might suck. You’ve been on this ride before. You know how this dance goes. So do not abandon your dance partner.
If you struggle to trust in your ideas, here are some ways to reframe your relationship with them.
Best guesses, not permanent solutions
Treat life like an experiment. Don’t take everything so seriously. It’s not the end of the world if you realize an idea you were once excited about isn’t as fruitful as you thought it would be.
View the search for good ideas through the lens of curiosity. When you follow your curiosity, you’re not wasting time.
Any idea you may have today that feels like a failure could evolve in the future (though it will likely require some updating like me and my career path).
Put it into practice quickly
Ideas are abstract and many people tend to stay stuck in the abstract. We talk about what we’re going to do. We’re always getting ready to put our plan into action—to test our idea.
And then…nothing.
Staying in the abstract is dangerous. How do you know if an idea is a good one or not if you don’t put it to the test? You need to build—to create.
Brainstorm. Develop. Test. Assess. Repeat.
Give the idea a chance
Give your ideas a chance to breathe. Resist the urge to toss an idea to the side right away, even if your initial judgment is that it’s a bad one.
Why exactly is it a bad idea?
Challenge yourself on these initial judgments. Push past the desire to extinguish an idea immediately. If you’re trying to solve a problem, reframe it. If you’re making a big decision, list some pros and cons.
Is the reason you don’t want to pursue an idea simply because you’re afraid? It’s important to question yourself before you abandon an idea because you very well could be tossing aside the idea that leads you to a breakthrough.
Be patiently, impatient
It takes a lot of patience to sift through bad ideas. It can be demoralizing—running into one dead end after another.
Don’t stay stuck for too long. Move on to the next thing when it’s clear you’ve taken an idea as far as it will go. You can always come back to it if you need to.
The iteration phase of idea development can often lead to the momentum you need to create the magic you’re looking for.
Be patient with yourself, but impatient in your search.
You are the magician
Your formula for good ideas is your best guesses, or hunches, put into tangible practice quickly. Assess what the results are. Figure out what worked and what didn’t and why. Take note of what you learned.
Is there a thread you can follow from one bad idea to a better one, or is it time to move on completely?
You can create your own magic once you realize that fighting through all your bad ideas is the key to the good ones. As long as you’re putting your ideas into practice instead of giving up, you’ll be fine.
I’ll leave you with this quote from the great Maya Angelou:
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.
The defeats (or bad ideas) are not the end. You may fail, but you are not a failure. You are discovering who you are and what you want to do. So keep searching. Your next idea could be the one that changes everything.
What stood out to me this week:
On our response to trauma:
There is nothing wrong with you. Using the tools you had at the time, you’ve brilliantly adapted to your upbringing, your environment, and your trauma.
- Mastin Kipp, Reclaim Your Nervous System: A Guide to Positive Change, Mental Wellness, and Post-Traumatic Growth
On chasing pleasant experiences:
Living life to the fullest means being able to embrace both the good and the bad. It’s not just about chasing after pleasant experiences. Otherwise, we become trapped in always avoiding anything unpleasant.
- Darius Foroux, Stop Craving Pleasant Experiences (blog)
🎵Song of the week:
Stay blessed,
Thank you for your time—feel free to let me know how this post resonated with you or share it with a friend:
we are on a similar path. i always wanted to be a writer but never thought i had the talent or anything to say. now i want to write everything and say everything and use what i've been through to help people.
Thank you Jon, just what I needed to hear