I’ve worked with some very successful intelligent and creative people. I’ve also worked with intelligent and creative people who aspire to success, but don’t quite make it. One of the important things that differentiates the two groups is “the secret sauce,” that is, implementation.
The creative or entrepreneurial mind becomes excited and stimulated by bright, shiny objects, which often leads to new ideas and inspiration. Here’s the challenge: if new ideas distract your attention and you forget to implement what you’re already working on, overall, your results will be weaker.
Implementation has nothing to do with intelligence and creativity but has everything to do with how you prioritize and act.
If you find yourself squirming a bit as you read this, chances are you might be suffering from bright, shiny object syndrome. But there’s good news – there is a cure for BSOS, and here are some action steps you can take to overcome it.
Identify your top initiatives, and rate them according to how effectively you are making progress towards completion.
Now, decide which of these is the most important (I know, all of them are important. That’s the problem.).
If you’re struggling with this step, decide which initiative you can implement the fastest. Completing something will give you momentum to move forward.
Create a one-page, step by step bulleted plan on how to complete the initiative you selected. Make sure you include deadlines for each step.
Now, go work your magic!
You’ll find that the act of implementing will make everything seem a little easier, so you can look forward to some intangible benefits from this as well.
In the meantime, don’t ignore the other ideas that are a lower priority. Keep notes on them in a BSOS folder which you can refer to later and of course, add new ideas as they arise. Keep your creativity going; just prioritize as you go.
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