All of us get MANY new ideas everyday. Majority of these ideas will never see the light of the day.They die in our minds. But, some ideas we choose to pursue. How do we determine which ones to kill and which ones to pursue? It’s a million dollar question, really.
Here is one model to think about what makes you pursue some ideas and what makes you abandon most of them. At each stage, there are a few attributes that become VERY important – so I have chosen to include a short note with each of the attributes in various stages.
So, here is that simple model:
1.Think: This is where you are bouncing off many ideas and determining which ones to pick
The focus attributes in this stage are:
Curiosity: Curiosity moves you from the sidelines right into the arena. It’s an entry ticket to the playing field. Without curiosity, you are a mere spectator.
Connection: You may be curious about many things but not all of them you will connect with so much that you want to spend your time, energy, money and other resources to pursue them. For example, you might think of a new kind of crib or a baby stroller but you just may not connect with the idea enough to do anything about that brilliant idea.
Conviction: You make a deeper connection when you feel it in your gut. That’s when conviction comes in. You just know that this is something that you want to make it happen.
2. Tinker: This is where you have zeroed in on one or two ideas to pursue. You are now mobilizing the resources to pursue those ideas.
The focus attributes in this stage are:
Challenge: You know it takes time, energy, money and other resources to make this work. You know it’s not going to be easy. You know that the odds are stacked up against you. You know that you may not get all the support to make this work. Yes, you know lots of things might go wrong and still, you are willing to face the challenge and pursue that idea.
Courage: You are bold enough to take the first step – this is where the rubber meets the road.
Capacity: You are able to convince enough people to build the capacity now and in the future to make this idea a reality.
3. Take Off: This is where you are off to the races with the chosen ideas.
The focus attributes in this stage are:
Creativity: Things won’t happen the way you planned out. That happens only in the movies. In real life, it’s all above “improv” – real-time re-adjustments and adaptations. You have the creativity (within yourself or within the team that you have put together) to keep the momentum going.
Change: You are not only for change but you look forward to it. You welcome it. Change is the name of the game for any idea to go from a concept to reality and you have to be able to embrace it with grace.
Commitment: You are committed to the see this through and it shows up everyday in your words and actions.
I wish you the very best with those ideas that you plan to pursue and make them a reality!
My new column was published today at Lateral Action. This is about the levels of engagement in online conversations. Social Media has lowered the barrier to initiate conversations. Unfortunately, most conversations initiated via social media go nowhere. I talk about how to elevate those conversations and convert them into real relatonships – online and offline. Here is the graphic that will summarize the article
That was the topic of my presentation at the recently concluded #140Conf at NYC.
It was also the day when my new book was released. The new book is titled:
TH!NKtweet 140 bite-sized lessons for a fast paced world.
The entire book was written on Twitter. This is probably the first published book that was entirely written on Twitter.
I am fortunate to have Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) to write the foreword for the book. I am also thankful to all the wonderful people who provided advance praise for the book. You can also read the early reviews of the book here:
I am also thankful to my friends Karine and Francis from StresslimitDesign for designing the book and my partner Mitchell Levy for publishing it.
More on the series coming soon.
Review Copies: If you are interested in getting a review copy (e-version) please contact me via email and mention where you are “intending to review” the book. I will get one sent out asap.
If you want to get the background of how it all started, please watch my talk at the #140Conf below:
My friend Teresa Morrow is helping to organize two waves of Upbeat Blog Tour. This is the list for the first wave. Thanks to all those that are participating in the blog tour.
1. June 22nd – Starts with Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners writing a book review of Upbeat.
2. June 23rd – Melody Campbell at Small Business Guru will share a video review.
For those of you who are joining late, I send out a newsletter every week.
This week’s topic is:
Please take me from P to Z or Ineffective pre-suppositions
The newsletter will go out on Sunday this time. Apart from one article, I will include a few Aha-Moments (inspired by my close friend Bill Sherman) for the week and a couple of announcements.
There will be more interaction with the newsletter subscribers than here.
Occasionally there will be some pre-announcements of products and special discounts from me or my friends.
There will NEVER be an obligation to buy or participate in anything, of course.
Of the few hundred people who subscribe, more than 50% of the people open the newsletter every week. So what I conclude is:
I must be doing something right to make more than 50% of the people to open the newsletter
There is a lot of room for growth as the other 50% are not opening the newsletter yet
The virtual blog book tour for “Upbeat” is scheduled for June 22nd-July 3rd and July 20th-July 31st. It’s coming up soon, but there is still time to get involved!
2.Your blog URL will appear on the blogs scheduled before and after you on the tour (and we will ask you to reciprocate the same “link love” for your two neighbors on the tour).
3. You will get a copy of Raj’s 90-minute DVD “The Fulcrum Effect” ($97 value) via snail mail as a thank you. Please send me your snail mail address.
5. Your blog will appear in the announcement in Raj’s “Life Beyond Code” newsletter that has a few hundred subscribers that are interested in these topics.
6. Of course, you will get a signed copy of the book “Upbeat” in your snail mail.
Your options:
1.Write a review of the book, Upbeat, on a specific day assigned to you. (preferred)
2.Announce the book in a blog post, on a specific day assigned to you.
3.Post an interview with the author on your blog on a specific day assigned to you.
Interview details:
We suggest that you ask 5-6 questions.
You can come up with your own questions, or choose from this list of sample questions:
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called Skip, Scan, Stop, Save and/or Spread – five ways people respond to your online content. It was well received. I also got a ton of feedback and new insights from the comments and emails.
Based on that feedback, I updated the article and posted as a guest article on one of my favorite sites by three of my friends (Mark McGuinness, Brian Clark and Tony Clark – all super smart people). Here is the link to the article:
A few hundred of you have already subscribed. Thanks to those of you.
I have been blogging since February 2005. Today, this blog has more than 1300 articles on wide-ranging topics. I have built a number of relationships because of this blog and that really has been the best part.
Now, I want to take this to the next level and build a deeper relationship with a few people who want to hear and interact with me via the newsletter.
The newsletter will mostly consist of what I am learning in the marketplace as I help build companies, write books, speak at conferences and meet interesting people. Think of it like a more personal blog.
So, what’s the bribe?
Why should you sign up?
The newsletter subscribers are a special group and my goal is to help them get a big ROII for subscribing to the newsletter. While this will evolve, here is what I am planning:
* Exclusive content for Newsletter subscribers
* Early notice and discounts of what’s coming up
* Deals from my friends and partners that are of value.
Please sign up here and look forward to engaging with you there too.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called 
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