Someone else has “your idea” too, and that’s awesome

There’s a lot of talk about ideas versus execution in the entrepreneurial world. Ideas are worthless, execution is everything, and my personal favorite: “I would take an A team with a B idea over a B team with an A idea any day” but that discussion is for another post.

How did you react the first time you stumbled upon a company, product, or website which was a direct imitation of “your idea”?

Did you feel angry at yourself for not executing? Angry at the creators for somehow “stealing” your idea? Or did you put your ego aside and find joy in the fact that an idea you had made its way into reality?

I for one love when someone else creates something which I had at one time or another had an idea for. Why? It means a problem in my world has been solved. Not only that, but it takes a load off of my mental “life to do list” and allows me to focus on the other ideas that may not exist quite yet.

I assure you any idea you have that “does not exist yet” does indeed exist beyond your own mind.

Do the math: over 7 billion minds, millions of which are exposed to much of the same imagery, information, and similar life events as you. Sooner or later every idea has been thought about by more than one person, each of which has never met the other.

Sure each of us has our own particular spin on an idea based on our own individuality, but the core of the idea will be much the same. What it comes down to is whether you or someone else will be the one to bring the idea into reality.

There is always room for more than one execution of any idea, so don’t let your ego get in the way of following a dream!

The ego will let you be angry that someone else is executing an idea you’ve had. But it is up to you whether you choose to be happy that “your idea” is being created, or angry at yourself for not executing. It is up to you whether to judge someone else’s execution of an idea, when you yourself have put not even a drop of effort towards your own execution.

When someone else begins executing one of “your ideas” there are only two logical choices.

Choose to be happy, or choose to put the effort towards doing it better. Do not let your ego trap you into feeling sad for yourself or angry at others. Your energy has much more important things to focus on.