We all heard the adage – “knowledge is power” but is it really? We all know people, maybe even ourselves who have buckets of knowledge but never apply this knowledge in any meaningful way. How often have you attended a training course, left you learned a lot from the day but then decided not to apply much of what you learned to your business or your life?

People are coming up with great ideas everyday. 99.99% of these never get beyond this thought stage. I recall an evening, 15 years ago when 2 friends and I sat down around a kitchen table and within the space of 2hours, 2 pots of tea and a packet of biscuits were able to come up with 100 brand new original ideas for businesses. Unfortunately, this is as far as it got and we never did anything with any of these ideas. One of the ideas we had was for a back packer’s tour bus around Ireland. There is a company in Dublin now called Paddywagon tours providing this exact service and they seem to be doing extremely well. The difference between us and the founders of Paddywagon is one simple ingredient – ACTION.

 
Here are some tips on how you can take yourself from the idea stage to ACTION.

1. Accept that no idea is perfect. If you have something that is 75% there, work with that. It will most likely change anyway. Looking for the 100% perfect idea will waste a lot of time and it is unlikely you will ever find it.
2. Expect people to knock your idea and build up some protection around you to avoid getting demoralised by (a) surrounding yourself with people who will support your enthusiasm not dampen it and (b) when you have people in your life who seem to be sceptical, make it your mission to convince them that this is a great viable idea. Not only will this get these people on your side, it will also serve to bolster your own confidence in the idea.
3. Go out of your way to share your idea with other people who will both support you and challenge you to follow through. Tell them not to let you off the hook and to help keep you on track.
4. Get CRYSTAL clear about the reasons you are pursuing this idea. The more compelling the reasons, the more likely you will stay the course. Money itself is not normally very compelling for most people but what money can give you can be. For example are you more excited about earning Eur100,000 or owning a holiday home in the sun?
5. Get CRYSTAL clear about all the regrets and pain who will feel if you don’t follow through on the idea.
6. Accept and expect “down” or “bad” days. These are a natural part of life and it is unrealistic that you will feel as energised and buoyant everyday as you did on the day you came up with your idea in the first place. When you expect something, you can plan for it and minimise the impact it has on you. On these days take some time to reflect on everything you are grateful for and everything you have achieved so far.

 
Until next time, stay healthy and stay safe.

 
Fergal O’Connor is a Business and Personal Life Coach working in partnership with his Business and Private clients providing a supportive, confidential, challenging and non-judgemental environment to make their ambitions and dreams a reality. Fergal also facilitates a range of Coaching and Management training programs, Team facilitation workshops and is available for public speaking engagements. Fergal can be contacted at Synergy Coaching Services, Tel: (061) 467287, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it web www.synergycoaching.ie

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