Chances are; you have a great idea, one of those ‘million dollar’ ideas that you find yourself obsessing over. You have crafted and shaped this idea over months, years, maybe even decades. The more you refine it, the more real it becomes to you, and the more personal it becomes. Like homes, jobs, relationships, and children the more time and energy you invest in something, the more protective you feel. You want to safeguard this idea from theft, criticism, and maybe even from reality. When one of these ideas takes a hold of you, imbue it with your energy and personality. In their fervor to shape these ideas and bring them to life, there are 3 common mistakes I often see people make: 1) they don’t share their ideas with others, 2) they don’t listen to criticism, and 3) they never actually act on these ideas.

#1 Sharing is Caring

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Don’t Bother Locking Your Doors

The bad news is: your idea really isn’t that unique, everyone has an idea or two like this. The good news is: your idea isn’t that unique, and that everyone has an idea or two like this. No one wants to steal your idea, because they are too busy with their own babies to care about yours. Really, you should be pestering anyone who will listen to you. An idea is a formless, abstract thought, with no basis in reality; it is in the struggle to communicate your idea to someone else that it starts to become real. Can you explain your idea in one sentence? Can you paint a clear picture in someone else’s mind, as clear as it is in yours? If you can’t even explain your idea clearly to someone, good luck ever creating it. Trying to explain a concept to someone else, either in words or images, is a great way to figure out what you are missing or details you have ignored up to this point.

#2 Listening is More Important Than Talking

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We are Only Trying to Help

So you have been shaping and refining this idea, you tell someone about it and then the unimaginable happens, they start giving you advice. Have you ever shown someone something you wrote or painted only to have that person immediately point out all of its flaws? When you put all of this time and effort into this masterpiece you probably weren’t imagining the criticism you might receive, but all of the praise people were sure heap upon you. Whenever someone brings me something “looking for my opinion” I always think “do they really want my critique, or do they just want validation?” I’m guilty of it too, you have worked really hard and you really just want someone to tell you all of your hard work was worth it.

If someone criticized the way you did some menial task, like laundry, or parking a car; it might not bother you that much, you would probably take their criticism into account the next time you parked or cleaned your clothes. You might not care that much if you fail to park your car without backing up twice, your pride isn’t tied up in it. When someone gives an opinion on something that really matters personally to us, we envision every mistake like it’s a personal character flaw, like every error they bring to light risks the chances of the idea being broken into an unsalvageable mess. Chances are that person didn’t hate your idea, if they did, they probably wouldn’t bother to say anything at all. Instead they have been gracious enough to lend their brain power and experience to your situation. If you treat their opinion as an attack, you will have missed out on what is probably some great insight. Even if they really are trying to attack you personally and hurt your feeling; the things they have pointed out are probably still flaws that need addressing, and you will only be stronger for taking their opinion into account.

#3 Actions Speak Louder Than Words

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More Walk, Less Talk

Possibly the most common mistake that people make with their ideas is only thinking and talking about them. When an idea is just in your head it can be flawless and pure, protected from the real world. The minute you start to shape that idea into reality, the flaws and oversights compound upon each other; conditions and scenarios you never anticipated come to light (this is especially true of games). It never turns out quite like you imagined it, this idea that you fell in love with is now real, and it is a lot uglier than you pictured it. You might retreat back into your imagination, back to where the idea was perfect, you might fall out of love with the concept altogether and go chasing a new muse in the excitement of a new forming idea. An idea is just that, ideal. It is an abstract notion floating in our mental synapses. Bringing it into the world requires effort and sacrifice, and the end result is never quite as good as we imagined it. It’s no wonder so many of us never get past the idea stage; the reality is never quite as rewarding as the day dream. So why bother at all? Why go through all that effort just to create an imperfect facsimile of perfection? The answer is: because it is worth doing.

#4 The Wrap-Up

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The Conclusion

We all contain models of the universe in our heads, this way we can analyze our pasts and predict our futures. An idea is a splinter of our mind, a part of the model of the world we have constructed to deal with the chaos of reality. We want to share our experience of life with others; we want to know that we are not alone in our struggles, that we have something in common with other people. Here, I think, is the reason we create art, we wish to share our worlds with fellow humans, and we consume art because we want to share someone else’s experiences. Humans are social creatures, and this connectedness is our way of overcoming our fears.

All of these mistakes we make with our ideas, not sharing them, not listening to others, not producing work; are based on fear. Fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of our own short-comings. By miserly hoarding our ideas, they become unrealistic dreams, put up on a pedestal, protected from harm. By exposing these ideas to the world, we expose ourselves; we can connect with others and share our minds with the world. Art requires courage, the ability to pour blood, sweat, and tears into something only to have it dismissed by your peers; and then go back, and try again. So write your million dollar idea down, share it with your friends, listen to their advice, and start the long thankless process of bringing it into the world; because, otherwise, what good is an idea if you can’t share it?

Oh, and just another reminder, call your Mother