What would you do with $175million?

Well, if you are Elon Musk you would define the most important issues humanity ought to address. Then proceed to sink your entire net worth into founding SpaceX to solve Space Exploration and Tesla plus Solar City to address Sustainable Energy.

Now, if you are like me, you don’t have $175million but neither did Elon initially, so he first tackled smaller scale problems, creating Zip2 and then moving onto X.com which evolved into PayPal whose sale to Ebay put all that dough in Elon’s back pocket.

By addressing problems that people wanted solving, whether that was to give local businesses an online presence or colonizing Mars, Elon created an escalator of ascending value in which people wanted to invest.

Elon is not only the ultimate problem solver, but he also follows through tenaciously to overcome every barrier that stands in his way.

Now what about me?

I already discussed how I tried to become an idea machine. And in fits and spurts I come up with ideas but any follow through quickly flounders.

Why is this so?

The first reason is, does my idea address a problem that needs to be solved? Generally, the answer is yes. However, I soon find that the problem has been addressed already or is well on the way to be solved by people a lot cleverer than me.

The second is a question of scale. Upon realizing I can contribute. I find that I need to be an industrial conglomerate to even begin to develop my idea.

These are two legitimate idea screens, one that prevents you from wasting valuable effort on activities that have little chance of bearing fruit.

But I am sure I have had ideas which pass this idea screen, why haven’t these developed into anything?

What is holding me back?

I spent last night reading ‘Risk Forward’ by Victoria Labalme, a stage performer and actress that turned her skills to helping people in business and the arts to express themselves and find their path.

On reflection, it seems that I am constantly looking for ‘crimson stars’ to chase after. Those ideas, goals, or random thoughts I think could be the root of life change or entrepreneurial endeavor.

However, when I discover a ‘crimson star’ I initially start to run after it, but I stop when I hit my first hurdle. When I hit this hurdle, I realize that I don’t have all the skills or resources to achieve my idea and so the fear of wasting time on the endeavor takes over.

This comes from my doctoral studies. It took me four years of dedication to become an expert, and ultimately it did not lead to a career in the field.

Therefore, I worry about investing time into activities for fear that they will fail. This time could be better spent exploring other avenues, but more often it is spent procrastinating, rebuilding momentum for the next stop start activity.

The benefit of pushing through.

If an idea passes my screen, I need to persevere, even if the pathway appears blocked. This is because as you move further down the path towards your crimson star you may happen across a fork in the road that may open new options.

When I think about my current attitude to new ideas. I think about how my mindset affects other areas of my life. For instance, I will cut off relationships, friendships, and new hobbies just because I do not see a pathway through.

In general, I am ok with obstacles. But I am not ok with obstacles when I don’t see a path. And this is something I must get better at.

For instance, if I like a person, I should not set too much expectation until I have travelled down the friendship and relationship path and see what reveals itself naturally.

Don’t make your decision to early, don’t fill your relationship with imagined doubts until they present themselves.

Back to business.

You have your idea screen. You have the courage to push through and you are not afraid of imagined doubts. Is there anything else that can help you find your way?

This is where Victoria talks about ‘finding your V’ and you develop your idea into a vision – or quite simply having the courage to follow your instincts about which direction your idea should lead.

Following your instincts will help you to screen advice from other people. If you follow suggestions that do not feel right, then you will be pulled in the wrong direction and quickly your idea will evolve into something that no longer excites you.

Developing your idea is the ultimate head plus heart combination. You cannot be too biased by one or the other but keep them in check, through initial screening and then regularly checking in with yourself on the way.

But ultimately it is about discovery and doing what motivates you within your own instinctual guidelines.

As Mark Manson says you are probably already doing what you love, or what drives you. And it is the wrong idea about what you love that is holding your back.

Be in touch with yourself and you will ‘find your V’ and then risk forward or fail forward from there. . .