Hey everyone,
isn’t it so hard to stick to one thing? I countlessly start projects, write concepts. Change them.
One year ago I started as an entrepreneur again in another topic. I’ve built up a following, a podcast etc. But at one point I was so overwhelmed by all my creative ideas that I just stopped as my mental health was taking a troll. I started working again as social media manager.
But after some time I always get driven again back to entrepreneurship. I want to create something. But I’m so scared of choosing the wrong one, not even out of a business aspect but out of my own happiness. I can just start 100 projects and not sticking to one all the time. How do I know which one t choose? My new interest? My old one? It’s hard to always be in between.
I would love to have that one passion I could follow through. But instead I have countless ideas, but not sticking to one.
Does anyone have any advice? I how did you manage it successfully in entrepreneurship? Not to get distracted? Not being scared to choose the wrong thing.
Because one thing is certain: Not doing anything out of decision paralysis is not the way to go.
Thank you for your help!
Madita
How do you deal with having too many ideas, getting distracted and being afraid of choosing the wrong one?
byu/aboutmadita inEntrepreneur
Posted by aboutmadita
12 Comments
Ritalin
Commitment is a skill, an effort, and takes time to develop. If you can learn this skill, you can commit to a relationship, a marriage, and even a business idea.
New shiny objects will appear in your sights literally every day until you ~~die~~ go blind.
Welcome to the road of self-mastery.
*”We’re all just squirrels trying to catch a nut.”*
Keep a chart of all your ideas and do a complete analysis of all of the factors that make them worth pursuing or not. Rate them based on what’s important to you; startup cost, revenue potential, time investment, happiness quotient… whatever things you can think of that might come into what you define as success. You can update the chart over time as whatever you’re doing now changes in terms of its ease or payoff – say you’re doing something now that you thought would be super successful, generate a lot of money, make you happy or whatever but you find that it’s not. Then you can look at your chart and see what other idea you had that would be better, and if it’s not better you stick with what you’re doing and try and make it better.
Before I had too many ideas, now I immediately talk to users if they’re are ready to pay for it. A lot of ideas just go away very quickly
Hi Madita,
I hear you! That “idea paralysis” is a real struggle. I’ve been there myself, and sometimes, I’m still there. It’s that nagging fear that we’ll commit to the “wrong” thing, right? Here’s my two cents, based on what’s worked for me:
* Embrace “Fail Fast”: Seriously, it’s the best advice I got when I started building my own project. Instead of endlessly planning, take a tiny step towards one of your ideas.
* Test it out cheaply: Can you validate your idea through a simple landing page, a few social media posts, or even just chatting with potential customers?
* Set a Deadline: Give yourself a short period (even a week!) to gather feedback or try to gain traction.
* Be Honest with Yourself: If it’s not working, pivot quickly! That’s not failure, it’s information.
* Don’t Confuse Passion with Perfection: You don’t have to find the “one true calling” right away. Sometimes, the act of DOING something sparks new ideas or unexpected paths.
* Tools for Focus: This is where I think the right tool can be a game-changer. I’m building something called Aspire AI that helps break down those big ideas into smaller, less intimidating steps. (More on that in my profile)
Remember, every entrepreneur goes through this! It’s about ACTION, not overthinking. Take a small risk, learn, and repeat. The “right” idea might surprise you!
I had this before until I realised I was just chasing any new thing which might make money. There was no deeper consideration to the idea. Now my ideas have to go through a filter. Your own filter will be personal but if you look up the concept of Ikigai it can help you develop your own filter.
For me it’s something like:
1) Does bringing the idea to life get me excited (e.g I wanted to do clothing brand before because seemed like a way to make money. Reality I don’t give a shit about fashion, so deep down I didn’t care if my brand existed or not. You should have this belief that your idea needs to be a thing that exists)
2) Does my natural skillset give me a competitive edge in that business? (I’m good at coding, writing and solving problems. Again, pretty useless for creating a clothing brand)
3) Will the work at least be enjoyable for me 70% of the time? (There’s always some boring shit to do in business, if a bulk of the work is going to be miserable to you, might be a sign you’re not aligned)
4) Does the type of business idea align with the lifestyle you want? (I like getting outside everyday and having flexible schedule, and not having endless meetings with clients etc)
5) Will people actually pay for it
Now, no business idea will be taken seriously until it’s passed through the filter. When you have a system like this, you start looking at success not as “what if” but when.
Pick something that isnt sexy, but fills a needed role. Cutting lawns, cutting hair, cleaning homes, some jobs are recession proof
People in touch with their creativity can often run into the problem that they follow to many directions at once but non of them really.
the internet can also be a disabling place by showering you with “stop doing this, do what I am selling, it’s the only way that works!” Marketing that is quiet basic and contradicting.
Be still. Find out what you want to commit to testing out. Set a time frame. Put your earplugs in. Test it.
Do you write them down?
Writing on notion on a board view and grouping it ‘Not started – In progress – Done’ helped me. ‘In progress’ means I’m validating the idea, which again means I’m looking for the first paid customer before building it. ‘Done’ means I got the first paid customer and it is moved to a project board to be built.
I read the books ‘Million Dollar Weekend’ and ‘The Right It’ and followed the steps introduced in the books. In the book ‘Million Dollar Weekend,’ it says I should find the first person who wants to pay within 48h. Giving myself this time limit was also very helpful.
Actually, it was still not easy to push myself even though it was described in detail in the books so I told my friends what I was gonna do in the next 48h. My friends would ask how it was progressing. It was a good pressure to have.
You test your ideas and if they work you scale if not you move to the next test. Just start with the one you are most excited about.
Actually doing them. You have to start somewhere, and a proof of concept is a great place to start. If it works, go with that. If not, either pivot or go to the next idea.
A young man who had a problem of overthinking went to a Saint.
Saint was sitting beneath a tree and meditating.
Seeing the guy, the saint smiled and asked him his concern.
The guy said, “Dear Guruji, Whenever I try to do something, my mind produces countless negative and useless thoughts, and I can’t achieve focus.”
The saint got up and took the man to the riverside.
On their way, he asked the guy to pick up two earthen pots from his kitchen.
One was half full, and the other was completely filled with raw rice.
The saint asked the man to add stones from the riverbank in both the pots without removing the rice.
The man added stones in the half-empty pot but couldn’t add much except one or two stones in the full pot.
The saint smiled and said, “your mind is like that half-filled pot, it has enough space for these stone-like negative thoughts, you need is to fill your mind with tasks, responsibilities and goals, and if still there is some space left, fill it with hobbies, and then your mind will become the pot filled with rice, it wouldn’t have any space for the stones.”
The man understood the saint’s point, touched his feet and went away.
Unnecessary thoughts mean, your mind is still not 100% dedicated to your goals, it means you still don’t have a proper schedule to achieve your goals, all you need is to fill it with positive deeds and goals.
Once you are too determined and busy, not even the thoughts of failure would hit you; all you will think about is-
“What next to do.”