« Side Hustle School

EXTENDED CUT: When to Let Go of Good Ideas

2018-04-25

Ideas are like buses: there’s always another one coming. Yet so many of us hold on to ideas and projects long after we should let them go. In this special episode, you’ll learn 7 ways to know when it’s time to move on—and what you’ll gain by doing so.

What are you letting go of? Let me know! podcast@sidehustleschool.com or @chrisguilllebeau

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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
A low and welcome to something especial, this is an extended cod by name is critical about. This is satisfied score, but what we can do today is a bit different. We are now back with extended cuts in your number two now this is a special episode focused on something really important. I want to help you refrain you're thinking about from all the fear of missing out and understand, white critical to let go of ideas, even good ones,
That's right, you gotta let go of ideas, even good ones, and not only that I'll show you seven ways to know when it's time to let go of any particular idea right. I said this is a special episode. If your new, I could just drawing out of school this year, also just because it's been several months since we ve been quantities every month and twenty seventeen we had one of these special episodes, diving into particular topic, as requested by you, or, if not you personally, at least other listeners different questions. I heard I travelled to country and my book tour questions in my inbox questions inside a civil society and in twenty seventy we had twelve of these extended episodes, beginning with the power of observation. Continuing through topics like how to build a website in ninety minutes had to choose between different ideas, had a price, your product or service, how to recover from a social disaster I've known far too many of those how to get a book deal lessons in part casting even how to conduct your own annual review. Now, all this content is available completely free. You can go and download or listen at sight of school dotcom, Slash extended from there. You should see links to eat the episode,
sound there, also in your podcast feed, but now it had formed and fifty regular episodes assigns it can be hard to find them You're gonna see like an easy way to their categorize. Just go to that site satisfy Skoda, com, Slash extended, you can see everything and in just a moment will join. Into today's, which again is all about how to let go of good ideas right after this message from our sponsor and to thank you by the way is not a token message like. I really do appreciate them in all the sponsors that make the show possible. They allow us myself our production team, to bring this special episode and everything else we do unsatisfied school to you completely free. So thank you to them and it let's talk about, went to. Let good ideas go all right here, we go, and here is the quote by the way this going to guide our conversation. His coat is from Richard Branson ideas are like buses
there's always another one coming actually what he put it was a business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one. Coming like it's true for both those things, whether it's a business opportunity or any sort of idea principle here, as you can't get hung up over any one idea, because there's another one coming you'll have to worry too much about the bus. They got away now noticed his heart, like just to frame it right from the beginning. Scarcity thinking is human nature and that fear of missing out or from how it can undertake all of us who happens to be too like I'm getting better about it, but it still all too easy for me to hold onto something just because its familiar to me or just because I dont want to admit defeat or I'm just not able to see the forest for the trees. So it's a common problem, a lot of a struggle with it, but it is a problem like it's not good, because it prevents us from following up on what we already know is important when we ve already identified- and it also prevents us from being present and appreciating what we have
so I will introduce you to a new way of thinking about this concept. If you can learn to take joy in letting go of opportunities, even guidelines, what you'll gain is far greater than whenever it is your pass up. The thing is you want to be able to jump on opportunities, you want to pursue new ideas, but you also have to match that opportunity or idea to your situation in life. Fear like most of our listeners, the people I make the show, for you have limited capacity. You don't have forty hours a week to work on your side, us all. If you're lucky you ve got five to ten. Let's say most of our listeners have jobs, they have no shortage of others. Possibilities. So we do need to be strategic and making these choices. Now, that's the framing the thing as you you probably already know. This is a good idea, but because most of us have that follow ingrained in us, we're still afraid to embrace it. That's why you need a reward acacia before I give you. The seven ways will give you three benefits: ok, three benefits of letting go of good ideas. I just pick three could probably a longer
but benefit number one. Your gain more experience by letting go of an idea and trying something else. You gonna move forward a lot faster than somebody who hangs and ideas for dear life, believing that, if they let that would go now, get will ever come to. Them is easy for us to look at somebody else and select. We know that's not true, like obviously, if they had one the idea of going to have another one. Besides it's hard for us to understand it. Hard to believe it or to feel it ourselves, ok speaking, a feeling. Second benefit, you'll feel better by letting go of ideas you really well, because we spend so much psychic energy kind of holding onto things. There is too much stuff in our brain and you have to let go. Something in order to embrace something else: okay, so just by letting go of an idea, you're going to feel better and then number three least, I think this is true. You'll likely be more successful. Okay, so this isn't guaranteed. Of course, everybody's experience is their own but I know for sure that you're gonna gain more experienced by letting go of ideas. You're, probably gonna, feel better. By doing so- and I think you ll likely be more successful and others from my own experience and others from hearing from many listeners readers, my community
the world. Other people letting go on living on is a powerful thing. So, even if you don't get two out of three of those, I figure it. That's a victory right. So letting go of good ideas is a good exercise in thinking, Becker and working, smarter So without a mind, your seven ways to know when you should let a good idea go ready, hurry ghosts are gonna count backward from Saturn, never seven. It's time like of idea, even a good one, when you ve tried for a while, and it's just not working
This is probably the number one reason, despite being number seven on a list. You know if something isn't working. Why are you wasting your time? Just gonna put that out there, like. I don't mean to sound like a nicer. Quite the opposite, in fact, like I'm, a cheerleader, often Santa show like I'm cheering you on totally true. I want you to be successful, but that's the thing letting go of ideas will allow you to focus more on what you're good at or what's currently experiencing momentum or better idea which, how come to it's not about drag me down at all, it's about removing constraints so that you can be you're better self. I cannot mean to sound too. We were with that, but the reality is like if you like, of something it's not working, you pursue something else. Like I said a moment ago, you gonna, get more experienced. Gonna, feel better you're likely be more. Success all those things contribute to you being your better south acacia. That's number seven number six. When your heart is no longer in it again. This isn't we would all. This is really practical like if it feels like you're just pushing a rock uphill as opposed to making progress, or if you realized something has changed with you like you used to be,
and this thing, but now you don't anymore, that's normal, like we are kind of change throughout life. I really think fierce artists, like you, have to believe in your idea, but you have to care about it. You have to look forward to spending time on it. We all have so many things in life that we have to do just because we have to do them and that's part of responsibility having a day job and all that but fear side I saw it- doesn't mean yet to enjoy each moment of it, but it does mean. I think that you have to look forward to it. You have to care about it overall. So if you start in that way about an idea or project orbits, a new idea and you think he'd objectively. This is a good idea, but I just don't care much for myself. While there's your answer, let it go number five. When you ve learned that the idea is fundamentally flawed, acacia as you workin any project, especially aside, so you'll likely gain information as you go. This is
parents to the side of a process, because its different than a start up its different from having a lot of money and riding along business plan. Hiring people are that kind of stuff. That's not what we do here: you're, not necessarily trying to validate each idea before getting to work on it again, a key distinction in the sight of a process. So, as you go, Yoda gain information and at some point you might gain some information that you weren't really hoping for right, but that's kind of reality again as well. So you might discover, does not actually for this thing, like you thought there would be, but there's not, or maybe it's a lot harder or more expensive to provide it than you thought. That's life, that's normal! That's why you're investing your time wisely, not spinning forever, on projects before you decided going to keep going or not. So when you encounter those situations when you learn at the idea, is fundamentally flawed. Don't be yourself up
Right, but let it go number for you should like of an idea even a good one. When the idea is highly complex. Speaking of gaining information as you go along, you may discover thought that the idea is fundamentally flawed. It might actually be a totally feasible idea could be a good idea, for somebody could be really profitable but just take a lot more work efforts. Why does take a lot more resources than you initially imagined, and otherwise you bit off more than you can chew again in normal common problem. But if I happen to take a hard look at it, you know, if there's nothing else, you could be doing. Why not do that? Instead, if there is a simpler project, if there's a quicker way, you could achieve success. Success is you to find it, of course, even initial success or a small success? Why not do that instead and let this idea go
come on down to the top three hear reason number three or way number three: when you don't know how you can make money from the idea. This is something I try to hammer and as well, because here we are this aside: hustle school, it's all about economic empowerment. It's about income generating projects like I, recommend you separate your hobbies from your money. Making ideas. Does it mean your hottie can't be a money? Making idea in addition, but doesn't have to be. I want to see satisfied yet has to have a clear way to make money. Okay, so I've been going to yoga a lot recently yoga meditation class. Sometimes I don't do those things to make money. I have zero interest in starting a yoga side, hustle or meditation side hustle and because I know a bit about the power box formation, because I've lived this for twenty years and started lots of different projects. I probably could, if I wanted to, I could think of some business ideas might be able to think of some
you'll get meditation, but it is not really what I want to do. First of all and second of all related to this approach, if I don't have an obvious revenue model for something, I'm just gonna stick with doing those things for my own personal development, okay, so there's something you like doing just for the sake of doing great, keep doing it, but if it's a scientist idea without a way to make money, but that idea go just let it go down with back. It's ok number two
when did you let go of a good idea when you have a better one? There are lots of good ideas in the world, their party lots of good ideas in your head right now, but surely they are ranked in some way right here, at least. Surely that can be and remember the quote: opportunities are like buses, ideas like buses, there's always another one coming catch the next bus, so listen a briefing caviar here. You know some of our listeners, often right means had to have trouble sticking with something just not quite the same situation. I'm talking about here and extended episode, it's more like they ve identified something, but they can't stick with it for more than a week in that situation, if you have trouble sticking with something, then set a goal of doing it for a defined period of time. The other side of the book. I use this twenty seven day process. I think that's a good timeline you'll have to use that one, but something similar comparable might be helpful. So during that time you just do that. You don't change your idea, but they know that time is up than you evaluate and say. Ok, is this the right thing for me or not, and if you're not in that situation, if you dont have a promise taking us,
thing. Then I would say that timelines almost irrelevant. You know if, if a better idea comes along- and you think it has real potential and your excited about it, then who cares about the first thing like let go of it? If a better idea comes along, you ve got limited time. You can only do so. Many things do the better thing. Ok, I hope those are helpful. Seven, six, five four Three two and now the number one way to know when it's time to let go when idea, even if it's a good idea number one way when you realise life is short, and you should spend your time doing something it matters. Okay, so, ultimately your site hosted accommodate your life and not the other way around again. It should be something that matters to you should be something you believe in. You should feel good about the ideas you choose to invest your time in and if something, if anything is holding you back on that, then you should cut it loose again, because life is short. I want this to be something that helps your life, not summit as a burden to you in any way. That's what I'm telling you all these successes every day, but also try to focus on what their challenges were. What
hard for them and some other people do say. You know. I too, that I realize this. This project wasn't accommodating my life, actually kind of ended up building my life around it, and so I had to make some changes to it. I had to maybe got a good idea again when you realise life is short. You should spend your time doing something that matters. That's when you should let go of a good idea, because they're always more ideas coming, that's my top seven list, and I know it somebody others thinking, ok, because I thought this way myself to rights. Let me speak to this person, not there. Maybe it's just one person, maybe it's you who knows there is somebody out there thinking all that sounds good, but I'm worried about losing my ideas, like I'm worried about losing this opportunity, forget about it or if I dont do it now, I won't do it later. Remedy lose something. Sure. If I dont pursue all thirteen of ideas right now, what did you think about and take a step back? Your eliza cannot persons that can be successful with any other thirteen ideas because they can't do all that at once. So here's my response to that thought process and again I've had a thought process myself.
No judgment, but to somebody who's like I'm, worried about losing ideas. Here's little bonus to that will obviate that concern. Keep a list of your ideas, but if you need to return to any of them later, they want really be lost, but just be there waiting for you. I have a paper notebook gonna carry around with me even in this digital age, like I write a lot of sub down on my computer I also use this not back. If I have an idea right down, I've got a whole stack of notebooks. Full of ideas with interesting is very really do actually returned any of them, but I like no there there. I have this weird security in it and having this list, or at least knowing that its there, it just kind of gives me the ability to make wiser decisions and, of course, like you can always be wiser, even always learn more have more experience were on a journey, and so on, but again, if you're worried about losing your ideas, will capture ideas. You have them if the new idea that you thought was
ended up- not being the greatest idea. If you discover that its highly complex, if you discover that is fundamentally flawed or if you go down the road with that one and you realize over time, actually my heart not in it, I thought it was going to be, but now that I'm actually seeing what's entailed with this kind of like the first thing I was doing better. I like my first idea: will you still haven't right? You still have a notes you took on that. You still have whatever work you did on it and if your idea is so short term or so temporary that it really is gonna be lost. If you're going to something else, then you should ask yourself like what's the real value of that, if it's so short term and temporary, that if I do something else for a month, it's gonna disappear. Is it really the best thanks. To be doing for the long term for the kind of foundation I'm hoping to build for myself so to wrap this up. I know this is a struggle, a guy. I know a lot of people struggle with letting go of ideas. That's why I want to make this list for you. If you remember nothing else, just remember that quote: business opportunities are like buses, there's always
there were coming and remember that there is a lot of power and letting go of ideas, even good ones. So I hope this was helpful to somebody out there. If you'd like to see some notes about this, just come to that same link. I mentioned earlier its side of the school dot com. Slash extended now actually include links to all these different conversations that we ve had resources for all sorts of things, but mostly I want to send you have today without challenge. What good ideas are you willing to let go of or just what ideas in general was that thing in your mind, it's actually been preoccupied. Taking up too much space when there is something better for you somewhere else. What ideas are you letting go of delivery to? Let me know you can write a pod cast at sight of school dot com. You can tweak me at critical about your job. I s gee you. I l l e b, a you, sir. I know it takes forty seconds dispel my name and most important of all the intentional
I hope you enjoy this. As I said, I'm not a naysayer. I am a cheerleader. I want you to succeed. I want you to win and I want to do anything I can to support you in that process. But ultimately it's you doing the work so do that work and, of course, I'll continue to be here every day with the story. This is critical about your host and your supporter and giving up on ideas. That's right! It's worth it! Let it go.
Transcript generated on 2020-08-05.