I’m Too Friendly With Cab Drivers

I sometimes get complaints from family and friends that I’m too friendly with cab drivers. This doesn’t mean I ask them for their numbers or touch their inner thighs while they drive, it just means I’m generally curious about people (in general, not only cab drivers) and think there’s always a chance I might learn something new.

But this is not about cab drivers, it’s about execution. And it’s not about executing cab drivers, because that would be a sad and horrible topic. It’s about executing ideas.

You see, an idea is not worth much in itself – it’s the execution of it that matters.

The reason I started this post about cab drivers was that a few months ago I had a conversation with a cab driver in Stockholm who just couldn’t wait to tell me about all his business ideas. This guy was brimming with energy, but there was something sad about him too, a feeling of: “but this will never happen, because I’m not that guy.”

He saw himself as a dreamer and a thinker, not the guy who got things done. A very frustrating feeling.

A lot of people have great ideas, but very few have the guts and the determination to make something out of them. I didn’t include money there, because I don’t think it’s about money. If you have the idea, the belief in it and the skills to transmit that belief, you’ll find someone to back you up financially. There are a lot of wealthy people looking for ideas to throw their money at. Go to a casino and drag them out into the sunlight.

But maybe you don’t feel confident selling your idea to people, maybe you’re more like the operations guy/girl? Then you should do what most successful entrepreneurs do, find someone to help you out.

Don’t see it as someone else getting their hands on your precious (for now, imagined) millions, see it as a way, perhaps the only way, to achieve your dreams. We can’t simply cover all aspects of a business and do everything alone – we need help and that’s fine. Besides, it’s much more fun to work together.

So maybe if the cab driver just found himself someone who could cover his weaknesses and let him focus on his strengths, maybe then he could be the next Mark Zuckerberg?

Summary (because people love bullets):

If you have lots of ideas, write them down and try to assess the most reasonable one.
Then think of someone in your network who you could trust and who would be a good match in realizing it.
Approach him or her and tell them about your idea and how they could feature in it.
If that didn’t work, think of someone else you could work with or another idea for the person you approached in the first place.
Start working together towards your dream(s).

Drive that cab forwards!