Every single day I meet many people who tell me that they have a great story idea for a film and they seek my help. Each time I advise them to write down the idea in simple words in few pages and send it to me. Almost all of them never turn up. Same with the aspiring authors.
I am sure you also meet people who have great ideas. When it comes to politics, everyone has amazing ideas to transform the country. You talk about taxes, policy, defence, economy, religion, medicine, traffic, infrastructure, congestion, agriculture…. Anything and everything…. People have ideas. I must admit that sometimes they have outstanding and breakthrough ideas. But they find someone else executing it. That’s why this world is full of frustrated innovators, designers, filmmakers, authors, entrepreneurs, leaders and so on.
Let me share my experience. I was always full of book ideas. I have so many unwritten books in my mind and half written books in my laptop. I started well but failed to finish it. I had no discipline. I wasn’t willing to change my habits. I wasn’t ready to make any sacrifice. I was in my comfort zone and now I realise no idea can be executed out of comfort zone.
It’s only when I changed my entire lifestyle… gave up old habits, changed sleep times, food habits which were not conducive to write a book…. And picked up new habits… that’s when I ended up writing a book. I didn’t stop there. Being a nobody in literary world I knew I had to became the salesman of my book. How could I have expected someone else to market my idea. I, once again, changed my habits, daily routine, and prepared myself to execute an ambitious, rigorous and extremely challenging marketing plan. It’s only after 2.5 years of non-stop execution of an idea, the book became a bestseller.
I haven’t stopped even now. I am now executing the final phase of getting the translations done in three languages on a deadline and preparing myself to market them with the same enthusiasm and precision.
Yes, I had to sacrifice all my old habits which were helpful for film-making but not for authorship. This was demanding on my family for which I had to explain it to them as it was important for them to understand that in order to actualise my idea, they have to cooperate and accommodate. Without which it wouldn’t have been possible.
The reason I am sharing my experience because I am convinced that there isn’t anyone who doesn’t have at least one great idea. But when it comes to execution, people fail. Without execution, the idea never reaches the consumer. Isn’t it often that you find someone has stolen your idea? That’s true. Sometimes ideas float in the universe because their time has come. It’s the one who picks the idea, gives it a shape and puts it out there in the marketplace wins the race. Almost everyone had an idea to make battery-run cars but it was Elon Musk who executed it successfully and rest is a history.
So, do not sit on ideas. If it’s a compelling idea, if it absorbs you, if it consumes you… I’d suggest get up and do it. Give up everything that is a hurdle in the execution of that idea. Delearn and relearn. Sleep early, get up early. Work on weekends. Create more hours. Change your ecosystem. Manage your finances differently. Seek help from experts. Invest in the idea. Make prototypes, keep making them till the time you get it right. Never ever think you are failing. If you ever feel that way think about how many times you fell before you started walking. Someone will recognise your idea. I believe when you give everything to execution, the universe helps you meet people who need that idea.
Always remember that the difference between a daydreamer and a pro is that a pro always works with a deadline. Nothing can be executed if we leave it to our moods. Also, the road to success is long, difficult and lonely. Accept it.
Idea. Execution. Marketing. Three simple steps to success. Be #IAmBuddha
