Your idea probably isn't great...but it doesn't matter

In the past 3 months I've read the book, "Start Something That Matters" by Blake (not Tom) Mycoskie, twice. It's a really great book that tells the story about how TOMS Shoes was started and grew.

There's one small quote that jumped off of the pages that I have been thinking about a lot lately: "...the success of most ventures actually lies in the execution phase, not in the idea."

For years I was always searching for the perfect business idea, but always afraid that if I committed to one idea that the next week I would think of a better idea and not be able to pursue it because I had already committed to the previous, now sub-par, idea. I had fallen into the trap that most people do: that success in a venture is directly tied to how innovative the idea is.

I'm learning that nothing could be farther from the truth. Of course, you need a decent idea with a good market for your idea, but that won't make or break you in your endeavor. What makes you successful is how you are able to translate your idea it goals, and your goals into an executable plan, and then the day-in day-out, week-in week-out, month-in month-out execution of that plan. There are some other variables, obviously, but if you can get up each day and execute your plan with great consistency, the odds of being successful are exponentially higher.

Some people have a hard time translating their ideas into a plan to form executable tasks. I believe it is actually somewhat of an art-form and and something that takes practice and can be learned. But if you are one of those people that struggles with that, then find someone around you that can help you do that and that will keep you accountable.

By the way, I believe this concept applies to all areas of life, not just business. You can have great ideals for being a good spouse or parent, but if you don't execute or act that out each day, it won't matter what your ideals are because it won't translate into meaningful action. A teacher has to execute about 180 days a year in front of students that don't want to be in class. It isn't the teacher's ideals that will make them great, it will be the grind of getting up each day and engaging kids in a way that imparts knowledge in a stimulating fashion, which in turn could produce the outcomes that the teacher envisions for his/her students and school.