Go for Different Ideas

Let’s talk about getting our ideas out there, shall we?

Ummm … isn’t that what you were supposed to be talking about for the last two weeks?

First, I don’t like your tone. Second, I get it. I do see how the last two weeks read like a never-ending preamble that may have left you wondering whether I lost my way instead of making my case …

(or maybe you thought I was beating my case)

… that it’s about problems and people before your idea.

But I didn’t! I didn’t lose my way. I just think this first bit is very, very important!

Now that I’ve made/beat my case, let’s talk about the work you’re going to unleash in the world, which goes something like this.

Good ideas solve real problems for real people in different ways.

That’s it?

Again, the tone!

Yes, that’s it – easy to write and hard to execute because every market everywhere is saturated. There are 8 million books for sale on Amazon right now. Why should someone read yours? There are 800,000 podcasts with 54 million episodes among them. Why should someone listen to yours? The animal shelter down the road rescues dogs and cats. Do we need your animal nonprofit, too? I don’t wear half of what I have, and my closets are full. Why should I shop at your store?

Well now you’re the one with the tone.

It’s an earnest tone. Why your idea?

Only you know the answer, and if you don’t know it, how will your idea catch someone’s attention? How will your idea keep it?

Good ideas solve real problems for real people in different ways.

Here’s two steps to help you identify the different:

Know Your Market – Don’t assume you know what’s out there. Know what’s out there. How are other people solving this problem?Know Yourself – This is not the time for false humility. What’s your A-Game? On a scale of 1-10, which of your skills stand naturally around 8 (to be honed to 10)? The goal here is to build an idea that aligns with your skills and interests.

Obviously, there’s a lot more to doing both these steps, and you can find it readily enough, but don’t lose sight that different is always a mix of these two factors as applied to the problem and people you want to help.

Does this seem achievable? I hope, yes! Your work has the potential to be as different as you are different. You just have to play to your unique mix of background, perspective, skills, and purpose. I’m going to talk about how you can test all of this tomorrow with a short-game, but today let’s stick with answering two questions.

How are other people currently solving this problem?

How would you like to solve this problem in a different way?

If you want me to help you think through this, just put your answers in the comments below, and I’ll take a crack at it!

We all have our space. Imagine you, unleashed, working for the glory of God and the good of those around you. This is what we’re talking about on the blog right now as I share the steps I took to envision, write, and publish my next novel, Louisa. Do you have ideas you don’t know what to do with or are you stuck somewhere in the middle? Start at the beginning of this series to get you going!