Better late then never!

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The title to today's blog is two-fold.  I should have gotten this out yesterday, but because of Mother Nature's wrath on Maine with the snow I was delayed.  The real meaning of the title is about Ideas.  The time when the light finally goes on and you figure out that you are really on to something.  As humans we have thousands upon thousands of thoughts that go through our minds on a daily basis.  Some of these thoughts have purpose and others are just there as a part of our every day activities.  The ideas that pop into our heads can range from the sublime to inconsequential, and everything in between.  The point I want to make this morning is that ideas come to us for a reason and the sooner you determine what that reason is and what you will do with these idea the better for you and everyone around you.

Everything you see today began with a single thought.  Every movement that has happened over the last two hundred years began with a single thought.  Now it may have taken a village to get things done, but it all began with a single person thinking something and then moving forward with it.  There seems to be this idea that all ideas have to have an end in mind and this is so far from the truth. When I first got the idea for a book I never imagined it would have lead me to where I am today.  In truth, it really wasn't an idea, it was just a thought. I was simply doing my job, one that I truly loved by the way, and I could not understand why young people had never really given any thought to what they wanted to do in life.  It took almost twenty years to take action on this little thought, but timing is everything as I have said before.  Each time I sit down to begin a new book it starts with just a thought, an idea, and then I let it go.  When I say let it go I don't mean I forget about it, I mean I just run with it.  I get the title first, then the chapters, and then all I do is sit down and write it one chapter at a time.  Truth be told, I don't even know what I am writing half the time and have to go back and read it when the chapter is done.  I even amaze myself at times with some of the things I have put down on paper.

The reason I bring all this up is I have talked with people who have some wonderful ideas and yet they never take the steps required to get things moving forward.  They allow past failures or set-backs to block any forward momentum and instead they relegate this idea to the dung heap of past unfulfilled ideas.  If you are waiting for the planets to all line up in perfect order, or for someone to come to you and say "Hey I perceive that you have an idea and I want to help you move forward with it.", you will be waiting for a very long time to get moving on things.  Ideas are nothing more then the building blocks to something more grand, more elaborate, and ultimately more satisfying and fulfilling.  The key is to keep these ideas alive and the only way to keep them alive is to feed and nurture them as you would with any living, breathing creation.  Ideas are creative after all and what you need to realize is that you have been given these ideas for a reason.

If you have been sitting on an idea and have yet to put action to it my question to you is why?  Why have you neglected the one thing that you may have been created to do?  Why have you let things get in the way of you being the person you were created to be?  I will say that most of the time the answer is fear.  Afraid to admit you don't have the foggiest notion of how to move forward with this crazy almost bizarre idea.  Afraid to admit that what you want to do is not what others expect you to do.  Afraid that this is just some crazy notion and there is no way that it could come to fruition let alone you being able to bring it to its conclusion.  Fear has no place in the realm of ideas and it has no place in your life.  Yes we contend with fear on a daily basis, but we have to let it go and move forward.  I have been guilty of not moving forward with things in my life, partly because of past failures, past fears, but at the end of the day, the only thing that this has gotten me is more frustration and anxiety.  Do yourself a favor and surround yourself with those who will speak life to these ideas and dreams.  These people may not have all the answers, but what they do have is a desire to help you succeed and become the person you were destined to be.

Ideas are there to help you move in the right direction.  Each idea is a stepping stone, and each path we take is a step in the right direction to our destiny.  Do not neglect the little ideas for they will become the cornerstone to what you are supposed to accomplish in this life.  Ask yourself these two simple questions:  If not me, who?  If not now, when?  You can sit on your dreams and ideas until the cows come home and you will be no closer to your destiny then you were yesterday, last week, or even last year.  Haven't we wasted enough time worrying about what others might think of our crazy ideas?  Trust me it may seem crazy to them, but for you it makes all the sense in the world.  It is time to put some action to your ideas.  Yes it will take work, but if its worth having its worth working for.

I leave you with this last thought, and once you have digested what I have written today let me know your thoughts.  I know you will move forward in those things that have been germinating in your mind for some time now.  Ideas come to us in some very strange ways but that is because we have closed ourselves off to the simpler way of discerning what to do next.  Be open to new ideas, and remember, if not you then who, and if not now, then when.  Don't fall prey to the other doubters and naysayers, they haven't gotten you anywhere before now and they won't be there for you in the future.  Take the next step and realize that you have ideas for a reason and that reason is going to help a lot of other people in the future.