“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”

Linus Pauling

“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.”

Howard Aiken

There’s a massive difference between sharing your ideas and talking about your ideas.

Every now and then, an amazing idea pops in your head, for example:

Oh my gosh! What if Skittles were actually shaped like little rainbows?!

What if we attached the technology of a jet ski compacted and place it under a surfboard? Motorized SURF BOARD?!!

What if a city had a monthly parking pass you could subscribe to, and park in any space?! NETFLIX FOR PARKING?????

Gerbils have wheels! Why not cat wheels!!? (This one already exists ha.)

We have a great idea and immediately want to tell somebody.

Sharing an idea is great. I think it’s smart to get advice on an idea and validate it with people you trust.

(It’s very unlikely someone would steal your idea. Making stuff is hard. People are more likely to dismiss it than steal it. Be cautious, but don’t die with your ideas clutched in your hands.)

The problem is sharing an idea doesn’t make it a reality.

Sharing your amazing idea with a friend doesn’t make it any more real than it was just living in your head. To make an idea real, we’ve gotta get working.

If you’re aware of that, finding someone you can share your ideas with is very therapeutic.

Having a conversation with someone who cares about you and desires to see you succeed might be one of my favorite things ever. (To give and to receive.) I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been able to collaborate with others by the sheer fact that I was enthusiastic and genuine about what they were up to and tried to suggest ideas that might help them. It’s the unbiased (or mostly unbiased) conversations that really light me up and keep me going.

However, just talking about an idea (before you’ve put in any work to make it real) can rug-pull the energy away from it. Talking about a potential idea takes away our enthusiasm to make it.

If you have a great idea—solidify it, sketch it out, use your skillsets and figure out simple ways to validate it.

Sharing is different than talking. Share your idea while you are building it. The energy is still there. Only tell others about what you are doing, not what you want to do.

And if you are like me, always strive to surround yourself with people who care about your well-being and success.

You would think that would be a default, but unfortunately, most people are looking for ways you can help them versus the other way around.

If you’re struggling to create these types of enthusiastic relationships, the best tactic that’s worked for me is showing that you CARE FIRST. The more you give, the more you get.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1733

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You don’t need to already be great to learn to be great.

Even a little effort done consistently goes a long way towards greatness. And an intense amount of effort directed towards a goal/skill can expedite your journey.

I don’t care what your genes say, or how much talent you think you have or don’t have.

Mastering a skill requires effort and persistence. If you practice those two things and are willing to put in the time, greatness is inevitable.

Daily habits and challenges make the master.

And patience keeps us in the race far longer than the majority.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1732

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Do you feel free? Truly free from negative stress, worry, and other constraints in life?

Freedom is a lack of undesired constraints. Some constraints are good. They can act like guardrails in life from paths we don’t want to be on. Undesired constraints are restrictions others put on us.

If you hold yourself back because of fear of what others might think of you, you are not free yet.

If you’re in debt (I️.e. student loans, credit cards, medical bills, etc) you are not free yet. Debt is a weight on your chest you may or may not realize is there until it’s gone.

I­t­ might not be your fault, but I­t­ is your responsibility.

If you have health problems and you constantly talk about them, compare yourself to others (woe is me) or give in to the hopelessness of your situation, you are not free yet.

Problems don’t define who you are: What you do with them does.

Freedom, like success, isn’t an overnight thing. It’s a slow-moving train that is powered by action and intention. The worst thing we can do is do nothing.

Accepting complacency, never making waves.

Freedom happens in daily investments.

Here are the things we should focus on each day to invest in our freedom:

Wealth

Happiness

Health, Fitness, Sleep

Connection, Friendships

Challenge, Growth

Wisdom, Learning, Asking for help

And Meaning (finding an outlet and pursuing I­t­ with everything we’ve got).

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1731

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Think of something big you want to accomplish in life.

Create a successful business, write a well-acclaimed book, go to mars, learn 40 languages…

Whatever I­t­ is you’ve set your mind on, there’s you, your goals, and a bunch of unknown, terrifying, exhilarating, rock bottom, uncomfortable things standing in between where you are and where you want to go.

Big picture goals are like a large realistic painting you view at a distance. When you get closer, you realize the picture was made from dabs of different colors and strokes of movement.

Mistakes, creative epiphanies, techniques, and layer and layers of work and expression are what turns stretched canvas and some tubes of paste into a masterpiece that resonates through time.

It’s the same with our big goals in life. It’s hard to see how a BIG goal is made when you’re starting at ground zero looking up at this looming mountain, lacking a Sherpa to guide the way. You want to get to the top, but how?

1%.

Doing even just a tiny amount of consistent and deliberate work dedicated to accomplishing your goal will accumulate over time.

1% adds up. The more consistent and good you get at something you love, the more you’ll want to do it.

What’s one small thing you can do today — right now — to get you one step closer to your goal?

Start with 1%, Stick with at least 1%, and one day you’ll be in the top 1%.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1730

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First: LET. IT. GO.

For a moment, let go of all your todo’s, your obligations, all the things you want to be and do. Let go of your dreams, fears, tension from pain, worry, and stress. Let go of what people tell you that you should be doing, or could be doing, or shouldn’t be doing, or can’t. Let go of what others think of you, or might think of you. Let go of what you think of yourself—your past, present, and future self. Whatever weight you’re carrying, drop it all.

To get past overwhelm, first, you must leave your old life behind, at least temporarily. Take some deep breaths, and let it all go.

Second: Decide What Matters Most.

What would you keep if you could choose?

Now that you’re free for a moment from all of that sht you were carrying, ask yourself: If I could choose what’s the most important things if I could choose what my life looks like, what would I like to keep? Or in other words, *what would you hate losing?

It’s often our darkest and most desperate moments where we can find that piece of us called ‘purpose’ we can latch on to.

Third: Put Responsibility in its place.

Somethings we carry, we can’t get rid of. If you have bad credit, you can’t run away from it. You can try, but running away will only highlight everything around you that tells you ‘you have bad credit.

Responsibilities are only burdens when there’s no place for them in the life that you want. The best way to handle these types of weights we carry is to always keep balancing them with the right priority and perspective that aligns with you.

Even bad credit viewed differently can be your opportunity to not only challenge yourself by improving your credit but also give you a story to inspire others who are in similar shoes as you.

Finally: TAKE THINGS ONE THING AT A TIME.

And I don’t mean a list. Lists, by themselves, become the definition of overwhelm if we are not careful. What’s a todo list but an ever-expanding universe of things you need to do but can’t quite find enough time to do them?

If you need a list, make a list. But then create a second list with only one todo, and focus all your energy on finishing that todo. And if you have the time and energy afterward, pick another.

More important, what do you want to drop? What are some things you can stop doing to add breathing room to your life?

Overwhelm ends when you control the frame that you are viewing your life from. Once you remove the background scenery and periphery in your mind you’re left with one thing: Something Doable.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1729

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First: LET. IT. GO.

For a moment, let go of all your todo’s, your obligations, all the things you want to be and do. Let go of your dreams, fears, tension from pain, worry, and stress. Let go of what people tell you that you should be doing, or could be doing, or shouldn’t be doing, or can’t. Let go of what others think of you, or might think of you. Let go of what you think of yourself—your past, present, and future self. Whatever weight you’re carrying, drop it all.

To get past overwhelm, first, you must leave your old life behind, at least temporarily. Take some deep breaths, and let it all go.

Second: Decide What Matters Most.

What would you keep if you could choose?

Now that you’re free for a moment from all of that sht you were carrying, ask yourself: If I could choose what’s the most important things if I could choose what my life looks like, what would I like to keep? Or in other words, *what would you hate losing?

It’s often our darkest and most desperate moments where we can find that piece of us called ‘purpose’ we can latch on to.

Third: Put Responsibility in its place.

Somethings we carry, we can’t get rid of. If you have bad credit, you can’t run away from it. You can try, but running away will only highlight everything around you that tells you ‘you have bad credit.

Responsibilities are only burdens when there’s no place for them in the life that you want. The best way to handle these types of weights we carry is to always keep balancing them with the right priority and perspective that aligns with you.

Even bad credit viewed differently can be your opportunity to not only challenge yourself by improving your credit but also give you a story to inspire others who are in similar shoes as you.

Finally: TAKE THINGS ONE THING AT A TIME.

And I don’t mean a list. Lists, by themselves, become the definition of overwhelm if we are not careful. What’s a todo list but an ever-expanding universe of things you need to do but can’t quite find enough time to do them?

If you need a list, make a list. But then create a second list with only one todo, and focus all your energy on finishing that todo. And if you have the time and energy afterward, pick another.

More important, what do you want to drop? What are some things you can stop doing to add breathing room to your life?

Overwhelm ends when you control the frame that you are viewing your life from. Once you remove the background scenery and periphery in your mind you’re left with one thing: Something Doable.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1729

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How do you stand out in a world of people doing exactly what you are trying to do too?

Extraordinary effort.

Anyone can start a blog, make films on YouTube, create an online business, start a fashion brand, design, code… etc.

Starting is hard, really hard.

But anyone can start.

Extraordinary results require extraordinary effort.

Standing out requires starting, and then some.

It requires:

• Consistency

• Intention

• Discipline

• Taking care of yourself — eating well, sleeping well.

• Continually experimenting

• Getting up when you fall

• Patience and long-term thinking

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1728

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What do you need to add?

What do you need to remove?

What do you need to double down on?

It’s hard to get where you want to go when you don’t take time to clarify what’s working and what’s holding you back.

Add. Remove. Double down.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1727

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You probably need someone to talk to.

Someone who will listen, real listen to you and your ideas. Someone willing to help you, vouch for you and push you higher.

It doesn’t have to be 1000 people. Or even 100.

Find those few.

A circle of friends rooting for you to win (and vice versa—friendship is a two-way street).

Good or bad, friends fade with different phases of life, but the type of people you surround yourself with will always determine the kind of person you are.

Your goal—and mine certainly—is to surround yourself with incredible people pursuing their own thing(s).

You could be really into web development and be friends with someone really into major league baseball. Or love photography and be friends with an entrepreneur.

The glue to the relationship is the pursuit of greatness and mastery. When you surround yourself with greatness, you want to strive to be great.

Build a community to push each other forward, working in camaraderie towards excellence.

The moment you start looking for your few, they will randomly pop up one day out of nowhere.

And when you find those few (in due time),

Cherish them.

Push each other forward. Forgive and forget. Be a good friend like the ones who you want around you.

Hold them close. Be the kind of friend that they need, because they need you too.

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1726

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What would you the future you want you to do today?

What would they wish you would do right now?

Worry more? Watch more tv? Eat another round of donuts?

We see our future as some far off event but really it’s happening right now.

What we do today determines who we will be tomorrow.

In a weird, mind exploding time travel movie way, we are all time travelers.

The best way to begin answering the question above is asking if you could go back in time to your past self, what would you change.

You can do that right now with your ideal future you.

From this long term perspective, somethings aren’t worth your time and some are.

Imagine what you look like in 10, even 20 Years. What would a habit of working out do to your body and longevity?

What would saving and investing do to your financial freedom?

What would taking challenges—even though fear—do to all the place you will go because of it?

What would cherishing friendships do to your happiness and peace of mind?

Our future is written in the stone of what we do each day. What are you going to do today?

STAY BOLD, Keep Pursuing— Josh Waggoner | Daily Blog #1725

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