Ideas

Ideas – To share or not to share

My world has been upturned of late by two conflicting concepts of idea sharing.

Both trusted sources have different views on whether or not our ideas should be shared freely or cherished in the depths of our minds, protected from jealous critics.

I was intrigued by the topic as I am an example of the extreme idea sharer- when the idea of writing a ‘blog’ about sharing ideas crossed my mind, actually before it was even an idea - a formless thought rather, I was on the phone to management blurting random quotes down the line in anticipation of …praise? Or maybe I was looking for reassurance before I invested anymore time…

Dominique Bertolucci, author of bestselling book ‘Your Best Life’, explains how our Ideas are a connected personally to our goals and morals.

Dominique expresses the importance of keeping our Ideas or ‘goals’ close to us in order to nurture them and develop them, almost using the concealment as personal motivation and encouragement.

In Dominique’s explanation, Ideas or goals are less likely to be achieved if we are always seeking approvals from our family and peers. Dominique teaches her readers to believe in their ideas and not put so much energy into persuading others to believe in them. Some people that we share our ideas with might not have our best interests at heart in their responses.

When I discussed this concept with my flat mates, via facebook, (almost offended) they responded with, “Underneath, we all want our close friends to succeed. Sharing our ideas with them allows them to act as a ‘devil’s advocate’ and help you improve the idea.”

Dominique’s advice challenges us in our motivation behind sharing ideas. Are we just seeking approval or are we genuinely ready for the criticism that comes with sharing?

Another public opinion, Seth Godin’s in fact, says that once an idea leaves our psyche another will quickly replace it, encouraging us not to be precious about our ideas but let them flow freely. Seth sees a short life expectancy for ideas and believes that to keep them silent is to condemn them to stagnation.

Godin released ebook, ‘Unleashing the Idea-virus’ as a free download after garnering a lot of blog interest. It is now regarded as the most popular ebook ever written - available for free download …somewhere in the World Wide Web.

After the initial buzz of ‘cool …..something free’, the crisp smell of a new paperback crept back in and haunted people’s memories. You guessed it; the masses jumped on Amazon and bought the hard copy for retail price. Seth sold more hard copies of the book than the free soft copy!

Although Godin gave away a whole ebook of ideas, there was one idea missing – the feel of a real book, the satisfaction of turning the page with your fingers, and the convenience of throwing it in your bag to read on those long train rides home.

And by this point, we like Seth ….because Seth gave us something for free. So we give something back. …payment for the initial free thing. And why not buy one for a friend.

So here I was, confused and conflicted. I saw truth in both arguments, hazy on whether they really do conflict each other or not…

I guess the answer depends on what plans you have for your idea and where your idea is in terms of development. If your idea is still a tiny little egg, perhaps Dominique’s methods call for ‘warming’ or ‘incubating’ your idea.

Godin would then recommend that once the idea wants to fly, show it the way out of the nest and …let it fly.

If we’re too precious about our ideas they may well turn into a '40 year old virgin’ still living at home, we might end up resenting!!!

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas” - Linus Pauling .