Let me tell you two stories.
About eight or nine years ago, I had this great idea. I had noticed the revolution in the luggage industry when all of a sudden, every suitcase had wheels. I thought, “hey, the next step is to be able to ride your luggage!” Ridable luggage.
My vision was a fusion between a Razor scooter and a suitcase. I used to sketch it out on napkins, tell people about it, etc. Everyone thought it was a great idea. At one point, I even bought some material to try to cobble my idea together. But like many great ideas…it never really went anywhere. Then, about a month or so ago, I was on a flight from Split, Croatia to Berlin, Germany. Thumbing through the magazine, I came across the Micro Luggage and the Scootcase. They’ve come and gone since then, and other rideable luggage companies have popped up. But the point is…someone did create it – EXACTLY like I had envisioned it.
Next story: less than a year ago, I called my brother, Josh; “hey, let’s do an IronMan triathlon.” We started looking into it, got excited, signed up for a 1/2 IronMan in August, got coaches, and started training. After a few months, I found some reasons why I couldn’t make it out to California to compete. He found reasons why he could – and he did. He completed it, and just completed his second 1/2 IronMan at Lake Stevens. I, on the other hand, still haven’t done one!
Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not crying in my beer. I’ve had and am having plenty of victories, achieved goals, and received many great blessings in life. And I’m happy to report that I am truly happy for my brother and the luggage innovators.
The point is, seeing these things that I could have done — but didn’t — was an important reminder to me. An idea is just an idea. An intention is just an intention. A decision is just a decision. Until it’s followed by sustained, focused action. And this is the hard part. Ideas are a dime-a-dozen; we all have tons of them. But ‘doers’ on the other hand, those willing to take ideas run them to the finish line, are a rare breed. And to these doers go the spoils.
The big question then becomes how to become a doer instead of just a dreamer or a talker. Stay tuned; we’ll discuss this in the next post.
Thanks!
– Adam
