Ideas Give Birth To Us

Ideas Give Birth To Us

"This is the eternal origin of art, that a human being confronts a form that wants to become a work through him."

-- Martin Buber in I and Thou.

When I was a much younger man, an idea came to me. I don’t remember it being very dramatic, no bells ringing in the trees or chills running up my back. It was just that I had been thinking about the meaning of quality and the idea was that I might have something to say about it.

I had just finished re-reading Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (one of the most important books of the 20th century, it seemed to me) and I thought I could write an article about where it took me. And since I’d been trying to sell articles to magazines – and in particular to car magazines – it seemed like a good idea to write something about quality in automobile design and manufacture.

So that’s what I did. I got up out of bed and wrote something. Not long before that, I had quit my day job, which was running operations for an industrial security firm in Houston. The company had a small fleet of Chevrolets which had an embarrassing low level of quality. I wrote about memories of earlier, legendary Chevys of the 50s and 60s, collector’s items now, and how strong and well-built they felt, just to sit in.

I wrote about the need to balance innovation, cost, and quality and called the article How Chevrolet Lost Its Mojo. I put it in an envelope and sent it off to Road & Track Magazine, absolutely positive that I finally had an article so good they would have to publish it. And I never heard a word back.

So I kept at my freelance writing, trying to bring enough money in to keep things going. It wasn’t easy but I knew in my heart, I knew in my whole being, that I had to write, that that was what I was here to do.

And then a few months later, I got a voicemail. “Hello,” said the voice, “my name is Don Runkle. I’m the Chief Engineer at General Motors. Would you please give me a call?”

It turned out that the Editor of Road & Track sent my article to GM and they made it required reading in the executive ranks. Runkle was calling to talk to me about it and see if I could turn it into a speech for him. I said yes and the next Tuesday I was on a plane to Detroit. I vaulted into the C-suite and stuck the landing.

In the months that followed, my income quadrupled and then in the years that followed, it doubled and tripled again. Soon, I was writing speeches for leaders of many of the world’s biggest and most respected companies.

That one idea gave birth to me. I am who I am today because I listened to what that little, seemingly random idea was trying to tell me.

What about you?

You have ideas knocking at your door every day. Maybe you pay attention to them, maybe you swat them away like flies.

Maybe you don’t think you’re good enough or smart enough. Maybe you don’t think you have time. Maybe you don’t think it could possibly work out.

And maybe it won’t, not this one.

But one of them will. And as you listen to them they will build. They will build your success. They will build you.

So whatever idea is trying to get your attention – an AI app, a new way of delivering pizza, a better plan for helping your team – pay attention to it and trust it. It may be the idea that changes everything and it will reward your trust.

Try this: try to remember every little idea that has popped into your head in the last couple of months, every idea that you tried to ignore. Write them down. See if one of them speaks to you. If it does, spend some time with it. If nothing comes, then try making up ideas. What’s one thing that people around you could use? One thing that could make life just a little bit better.

Then see where it leads you. Ideas are part of your life force. Trust them.

Let them give birth to the new you.

#innovation #management #future #creativity

Leonard Khirug David Irvine Eric McNulty Vince Poscente

Eric McNulty

Harvard-affiliated Crisis and Change Leadership Educator, In-Person and Virtual Keynote Speaker, Author, and Mentor

1 周

It takes courage to live into your ideas--or at least some wisdom that comes with age. I was writing as a major part of my work starting in my 20s. It wasn't until I hit 50 that I was brave enough to call myself a writer. Never looked back. Glad to have your perspective.

回复
Karen Cortell Reisman, Speak For Yourself? CEO

Business Communication Expert, Global Gurus Top 30 Communication Training Expert, Author, Executive Presence & Presentation Speaker/Consultant

1 周

Always insightful.

Eon Joubert T/Dr. E.Med.

Founder of Wholistic Self Integration International | Co-Founder @WhSeIn.org | Aspiring Writer

1 周

Dain, you mentioned to me that you always ask "what wants to happen?" and the moment you said yes to the idea of writing that article, what wanted to happen, did, and here you are.

回复
Oskhar Pineda

CEO/Founder/Thought Leader/Global Keynote Speaker/Author/VC

1 周

Whole heartedly agree Dain and relate quite strongly to you post. I say “cast and life will put on the hook what is rightfully yours”

Leonard Khirug

Neuroscientist | Executive Coach @ TriUnityMethod.com | Research Leader | Entrepreneur | Author | Educator | Speaker

1 周

Fully agree, Dain. Ideas give birth to you if you give your attention to ideas. You pay attention to ideas - they return your investment to you. And sometime your ROI is actually positive :)

回复

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Dain Dunston的更多文章

  • What does it mean to lead from the heart?

    What does it mean to lead from the heart?

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." -- Antoine de…

    2 条评论
  • The Idea Starts Here

    The Idea Starts Here

    "I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas…

    4 条评论
  • Hearts & Minds

    Hearts & Minds

    It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. –Antoine de…

  • The Idea Starts Here

    The Idea Starts Here

    "I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas…

    19 条评论
  • What I learned from the world's funniest straight man.

    What I learned from the world's funniest straight man.

    Bob Newhart, who died yesterda at age 94, was the kind of individual artist who comes once in a generation. His three…

    1 条评论
  • What is your work?

    What is your work?

    What is your work? Your work is action that fills you with joy. If it doesn’t fill you with joy, it isn’t your work.

    1 条评论
  • Here's What You Need to Know to Vote for My SXSW? Workshop

    Here's What You Need to Know to Vote for My SXSW? Workshop

    I'm proposing a workshop as SXSW 2010 based on the new book I'm working on Need to Know: The Essential Knowledge of the…

  • Everybody Should Leave America Immediately

    Everybody Should Leave America Immediately

    No, not forever. What did you think I meant? Just for a vacation.

    1 条评论
  • How Do We Respond When a Leader is Unstable?

    How Do We Respond When a Leader is Unstable?

    The Chief Executive got on the phone and, while his conversation was being broadcast to the public, started sounding a…

    1 条评论
  • Dodos Didn't Have a Secret Army, and Look What Happened to Them

    Dodos Didn't Have a Secret Army, and Look What Happened to Them

    You Can Build a Secret Army. Or You Can Be a Dodo.