(ThyBlackMan.com) Forgive me for using what might appear to be corny analogies, but I find that the creation of a new idea is a lot like giving birth to a child. There is a process through which the idea is conceived, perhaps through an interaction with another person or some kind of deep soul searching. Many of my ideas are the result of what might be considered an intellectual version of immaculate conception. There are days when I will literally go to sleep, dream up the idea, layout the plans while I’m sleeping and wake up ready to execute.
By interacting with the thousands of readers at Your Black World & ThyBlackMan, I’ve noticed that many of our lives and minds are pregnant with extraordinary thoughts, plans and possibilities. Unfortunately, 99% of the people who reach out to me to tell me that they are planning to start something new never actually follow up or do anything. They seem to
somehow think that having a good idea is almost the same as executing that idea. That’s like saying that having sexx and making a baby is the same as raising that child until the age of 18. The first requires one quick act of inspiration and the second requires a long, tedious, day-to-day commitment, backed by tremendous determination and sacrifice.
Sometimes, like a young mother choosing to terminate her pregnancy, we give up on an idea before it is even born. Like that young mother, we wonder if we have what it takes to nurture and develop the idea. We wonder if it’s going to survive in a harsh world that loves to murder our dreams. Rather than taking the chance that we might find ourselves rejected or disappointed, we realize that a safer approach is to kill the idea before we even see what it turns out to be. It may even die from plain old neglect.
But the first step of giving birth to our dreams can be critical, since nothing else happens until we choose to act. Just like bringing a baby into the world, if the parent chooses not to give life to the child, then the child will never exist. That decision to execute can make all the difference, and that’s where most of us get off the bus. Execution tends to be the final bridge between success and failure that many of us never actually cross.
To give birth to a dream and make it into reality, you simply have to PUSH….if you fail to take tiny steps toward execution, your idea will never be given the life that it deserves. In fact, it’s as if the idea never even existed in the first place, and you’re wasting your time fantasizing about possibilities that are not backed by meaningful and prolonged commitment. Once again, to talk to others about an idea that is not going to be allowed to be born is both a waste of your time and theirs. Maturity demands that you see the idea through to fruition.
Don’t choose to abort your greatness. Take the time to bring your good ideas to life. It’s all about moving forward and not giving up, just like my 17-year old single mom did for me over 40 years ago. The possibilities seemed dark and grim at the time, but she moved forward with energy and faith, and that made all the difference.
That’s the end of my corny analogy, I hope it made a little sense.
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.