Seth Godin say’s that “you can’t have good ideas unless you’re willing to generate a lot of bad ones,” and while I’ve generated a lot of bad ones, I’ve also had a few gems. The funny thing about those “gems” is that after many false starts, I’ve come to realize that that the concept or idea doesn’t matter, it’s all about how passionately the idea is pursued that makes it worthwhile.

For example: the Snuggie.

Generally speaking the Snuggie is not a brilliant or even original idea (it’s been in SkyMall under a different name for years); basically someone marketed a bathrobe being worn backwards. But it’s a hit, people love it to love it or they love it to mock it, either way it is selling like crazy! In fact, the only reason we all know about this lackluster idea is that someone was crazy enough to wear a bathrobe backwards and passionate enough to see his idea all the way through. (The marketing and pop culture phenomenon behind it is a completely different case study).

Back to my problem: I need something to look forward to entrepreneurially. I have a few fairly well thought out ideas, one of which is a complete revamp of this site to allow for “user generated content” (kind of), another would be very legally intensive because it borders on the line of legality (though everyone I’ve pitched it to loves it), and yet another is to start my own juice bar (I’m kind of obsessed with smoothies).

While I am confident all of the ideas would work, figuring out which concept to commit myself to is another question. Revamping this site would hands down be the easiest and least capital intensive, though the revenue model is questionable. At this stage it’s probably a tossup for the most capital intensive concept between the storefront and the legally questionable concept (which would obviously require a legal team.) The most exciting idea is legally questionable (would create incredible buzz…I already own the domain), the most promising is probably revamping the site, and the juice bar probably has a chance to do the best from a cash-flow standpoint.

My problem really comes down to me being horrible at making decisions. I hate making them; in fact, I’m horrible at it, the only way I cope in day to day life is that I force myself to make a quick last second decision because I know I will be fine either way (Soup or Salad?).

Currently I’m leaning towards revamping the site due to the fact that it is the easiest to moonlight. I still have a lawyer looking into some things for me to see if the waters are navigable for the other concept, but for capital purposes at least I should be able to see a relatively quick result on the website, as opposed to the other two.

I’m sure I’ll always be keeping my eyes open at various ventures, and coming up with random ideas that would work if I was passionate and pursued them, but for now, I’ve built what I feel is a pretty good brand and I’d like to follow it down the rabbit hole to see where it takes me.

After too long, a site revamp is coming. Stay tuned, and I may just need your help.

Thanks for listening.

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The first is that you can’t fake passion.  You can fake any number of other things, but you can always tell when someone is truly passionate because regardless of who they are, or what their personality normally is, they will begin to talk with their hands, and they will leap out of their seat with excitement when you hit a subject they are passionate about.  Passion is just as important, if not more important, than being smart or having good business sense.  People with passion get stuff done.  They are great motivators, others want to work with them, and because they believe and are emotionally invested in something they will work harder, learn from others, and will get right back up after being knocked down.   

Passion is key in any life venture. If I weren’t passionate about my love and my life with Mary, I might still be in college, because she kept me grounded and motivated me to do well in school.  If I weren’t passionate about business, personal finance, and helping people, you wouldn’t be reading this.  And if I weren’t passionate about my need and ability to be entrepreneurial and do something on my own, I wouldn’t be planning ahead to start a business with Mary.  

The second thing that Garett taught me is to keep a notebook beside your bed, which is actually why I’m writing this post at 6 am on a Saturday (I’m definitely not up because I was out all night).  I didn’t have a notebook by my bed, I had a computer, so why not?  Keeping a notebook by your bed is brilliant because I can’t tell you how many times I have had what I believe to be a brilliant idea in my dreams only to forget it within 5 seconds of waking up.  Having the notebook means you can write down your idea and go back to sleep without having to worry about forgetting it.  So far I have two failed ventures because of this, which is better than not having any at all! 

I have had an idea for a pet product for a few months now, and I have not acted on it, for various reasons, but, after seeing something that my sister-in-law made last night, it all clicked while I was half-way conscious this morning.  Now I know how to at least get a prototype for this product developed for very minimal cost, and I could even get it done today.  That is truly the reason why I am up, and if I didn’t have a computer by my bed I can promise you that I would have already forgotten it.

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