The Waiting Game: Mastering Patience in the Idea Business

Hey there, Plotter!

You know that feeling when you're bursting with ideas, but the world isn't quite ready for them yet? I’m living in that space right now …

Riding the crest of a wave that has yet to break. The view is spectacular, and the ride promises to be unforgettable, but the best I can do right now is refine my plan for when I hit the shore.

Imagine a champagne bottle, shaken and ready to pop, but the cork won't budge. Or being a little kid stuck in traffic on your way to Disneyland.

(I grew up in Long Beach, so I got slapped with that bullshit a few times.)

I can birth a universe in a day, but watching it grow takes eons.

In Hollywood, those eons stretch even longer, with each decision acting like a cosmic tollbooth, grinding ideas through a gauntlet of gatekeepers and green lights. An unending game of hurry up and wait, where creative sprints are followed by marathon waits for decisions.

After shepherding countless creative projects and business ideas to fruition, I now understand patience is a virtue, and an alchemical ingredient that transmutes good ideas into great ones.

The Paradox of Patience in a World of Instant Gratification

We live in an age of instant everything.

But in the idea business, the real magic often happens in the quiet spaces between the noise.

Getting older and hopefully wiser all the time, I’ve come to appreciate the power of letting my ideas simmer. Growing up in the flower business helped me to understand the contrast between nurturing living beauty and settling for artificial imitations, but it’s only after raising two children and a small handful of businesses that the behavior is finally sticking.

The Cost of Impatience

Back when I had no salt in my peppery hair, I was the poster child for creative impatience, launching ideas like a machine gun, rapid-fire and indiscriminate.

Sure, some hit the target, but many missed the mark entirely.

I've learned the hard way on many occasions that premature execution can be just as damaging as never starting at all.

Like my first attempt at creating software. I burned through mid-six figures on a product that was years ahead of its time. If I had exercised more patience, that costly misstep could have been easily avoided.

Impatience is expensive — it can cost opportunities, relationships, and even the quality of the ideas themselves. Like picking fruit before it's ripe; you end up with something that's not quite as sweet, juicy, or satisfying as it could have been if left to its most natural cycle.

Now I know that sometimes the hardest part of creating is knowing when to wait.

Building Patience Muscles

Still, it is rarely easy, especially for a chronic idea generator like myself. My mind is always buzzing with everything from storylines to studio innovations. The urge to share everything immediately is always there, like a standup comic nursing a killer punchline.

But after millions of reps spent exercising patience, I’ve earned my serenity six-pack. Here’s what I learned along the way:

1. Ideas need time to breathe: Like fine wine, great ideas often improve with age. Giving them time to mature allows you to refine, reshape, and sometimes even revolutionize your initial concept.

2. Timing is everything: The world might not be ready for your brilliant idea ... yet. But give it time, and suddenly, you're riding the wave instead of pushing against the tide.

3. Collaboration takes time: Sterling & Stone’s best work comes from the melding of multiple minds. Even when it serves us to accelerate that process, it should never be rushed.

4. The joy is in the journey: Learn to embrace the waiting and you start to appreciate the process as much as the outcome. It’s in that space where true creative fulfillment lies.

Why am I pontificating about patience today?

Because several ideas that were not possible at the start of this year are now blooming into fruition, and right now I’m exhibiting patience in multiple places.

Apologies, but you’ll have to wait a spell for the details.

I'm juggling simmering projects, each one a cauldron of potential waiting to reach its boiling point … with a special surprise brewing for you.

(And no, I’m not seeding something now so I can sell to you later.)

Next week, Sterling & Stone's birthday bash kicks off with our annual Summer Camp. It will be a creative supernova as storytellers from across the globe converge.

The week after that takes us past the 17th to another fun announcement, which happens to be the one I’m working on for you.

The best stories take time. The greatest ideas need space. Your patience will be rewarded.