{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"304. Too Many Ideas, Must Pick One","description":"Many creators and aspiring creators struggle not because they don\u2019t have enough ideas, but because they have too many. Their situations, in summary, are \u201cToo many ideas, must pick one.\u201d Embedded in this belief are assumptions that, if challenged, can help you feel as if you have just enough ideas. In my recent AMA, I got a question I\u2019m asked about creativity, probably more than any other: How can you pick a creative project when you have too many ideas? I\u2019ve experienced, \u201ctoo many ideas, must pick one,\u201d many times. I still often do. I of course answered this question in the AMA, but here I\u2019ll answer more in-depth. This is the thought process I guide myself through when I\u2019m in the land of \u201ctoo many ideas, must pick one.\u201d There are three assumptions embedded in, \u201ctoo many ideas, must pick one.\u201d All these ideas are equally likely to succeed. I\u2019m equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas. I can\u2019t work on multiple ideas at once. Let\u2019s look at each of those. Assumption 1: \u201cAll these ideas are equally likely to succeed\u201d If you feel you have too many ideas, you must think they\u2019re equally likely to succeed, which is the first assumption. That might not sound correct at first, but think about it. If you were starving, and only allowed to eat one of various sandwiches, you would probably pick the biggest and most calorie-rich. You might not be able to tell so easily which is the biggest and most calorie-rich sandwich. In fact, there may be other factors that play into your decision. Maybe the avocado and pork belly sandwich is the most calorie-rich, but you\u2019re craving roasted duck in this moment, and there happens to be a roasted-duck sandwich amongst the selections. While satisfying your hunger is one objective of choosing a sandwich, there are other goals in mind, such as satisfying cravings, which may compete with one another. If you have a hard time deciding amongst all the sandwiches, you expect eating one sandwich to be equally likely to succeed as eating any of the others. As with projects, \u201csuccess\u201d may come in many forms. We\u2019ll get to that in a bit. Assumption 2: \u201cI\u2019m equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas\u201d If you feel you have too many ideas, you must think you\u2019re equally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas, which is the second assumption. If assumption one weren\u2019t correct, and you didn\u2019t feel each idea were equally likely to succeed, you would probably pick the one most likely to succeed. The avocado and pork belly sandwich would clearly be more filling than peanut butter and jelly. Now, if you weren\u2019t equally capable of eating each of the sandwiches, that would make your decision easier. If you\u2019re choosing between avocado and pork belly and peanut butter and jelly, but you\u2019re a strict vegetarian, the decision is easy. Same if you\u2019re not a vegetarian, but allergic to peanuts. But since you feel each idea is equally likely to succeed, and you feel you\u2019re equally capable of succeeding at all of them, you feel you have too many ideas. As with projects, you may have little information about your capability of succeeding, which is why, for all you know, your capability to succeed is equal across all ideas. We\u2019ll untangle that later. Assumption 3: \u201cI can\u2019t work on multiple ideas at once\u201d If you feel you have \u201ctoo many ideas,\u201d you feel they\u2019re equally likely to succeed and you\u2019re equally capable of succeeding at each of them. If you feel you \u201cmust pick one,\u201d you feel you can\u2019t work on multiple ideas at once, which is the third assumption. In our sandwich scenario, you\u2019ve been told you have to pick one sandwich. If there\u2019s no one else around and the sandwiches will go to waste otherwise, you might as well taste all the sandwiches, then pick one. Or eat a little of each, until you\u2019re full. But, in that case, you wouldn\u2019t finish any of the sandwiches. Challenging the assumptions With all three of these assumptions, you\u2019re in a deadlock. Your ideas are equally likely to succeed, you\u2019re equally capable of succeeding at each, and you must pick one. Well, how can you pick one if they\u2019re all equally appealing ideas? There are five questions that can help you challenge these assumptions: What is success? What is my risk profile? What am I good at? What\u2019s necessary to succeed? What pain do I pick? Let\u2019s look at each of these. Question 1: \u201cWhat is success?\u201d Success can come in many forms. Maybe you want to make the most money possible. Maybe you want the most freedom possible. Maybe you want to do what you\u2019re most passionate about. You may feel each idea is equally likely to succeed, because each idea is likely to get a different kind of success. One sandwich will fill you up, another will taste great, still another seems like the healthy choice. If you have a clearer picture of what forms of success are more important to you than others, your many ideas will no longer be \u201cequally likely to succeed.\u201d Question 2: \u201cWhat is my risk profile?\u201d Not only can success come in many forms, it can come with various risk profiles. One idea may have a big chance of bringing you mild success. Another idea may have a small chance of bringing you wild success. The overall expected value of each idea may be the same, but the risk profiles may be very different. Some are sure bets, some are wildcards. There are also various things you may risk in pursuing an idea. Mostly, what I call \u201cTOM\u201d \u2013 Time, Optionality, and Money. If you are young, healthy, and with no commitments, you have a lot of Optionality, but you might not have much Money. Making enough Money to live may take up much of your day-to-day Time. You can try a crazy idea, so long as it doesn\u2019t take up too much Time and Money. If you fail, you\u2019ll still have plenty of Optionality. Or, you might want to make some changes that reduce your Optionality, but free up your Time. For example, I live in South America, which limits my options for anything requiring physical presence, but it has reduced my need for Money, thus freeing up my Time. On the other hand, you may be in your sixties, retired after a successful career. You have plenty of Money and Time, but less Optionality than when you were in your twenties. You can only take on so many big projects in the rest of your life, and you may not have the energy you used to. But, you may feel you have nothing to lose by trying a wild idea. If you have a clearer picture of what your risk profile is, not all your ideas will seem \u201cequally likely to succeed.\u201d Question 3: \u201cWhat am I good at?\u201d Even if all your ideas seem equally likely to fit your definition of success and fit your risk profile, you\u2019re probably better at some things than others. If you have a clear picture of what you\u2019re good at, the assumption that you\u2019re \u201cequally capable of succeeding at each of these ideas\u201d will no longer make sense. It may be that you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re good at, likely because you don\u2019t feel you have information to tell you what you\u2019re good at. You probably have more information available than you think. Think about times in the past when someone was impressed with or complimented you on something you did, which came to you naturally. Or, ask your friends what they think you\u2019re good at. If you really don\u2019t have information on what you\u2019re good at, relative to your many ideas, then the third assumption, \u201cI can\u2019t work on multiple ideas at once,\u201d no longer makes sense. In this case, you can and should work on multiple ideas, to get an idea what you\u2019re good at. If you feel your ideas are too big to work on more than one, scale them back into smaller ideas. Don\u2019t fall for \u201cThe Fortress Fallacy,\u201d like I talked about in The Heart to Start. Instead of building a fortress, try building a cottage. It\u2019s important to remember that what you\u2019re good at is not necessarily what you\u2019re best at, nor what you most enjoy. This will make more sense as we answer the last two questions that challenge the three assumptions. Question 4: \u201cWhat\u2019s necessary to succeed?\u201d In reality, you probably don\u2019t have a clear picture of how likely all your ideas are to succeed, nor how capable you are of succeeding at each. You have to ask of each, What\u2019s necessary to succeed? What\u2019s necessary to succeed at an idea is usually very different from what attracts you to the idea in the first place. You may love to play music. You may even love to play music in front of an audience. But will you love driving around the country, sleeping in a van, lugging gear, and dealing with curmudgeonly AV techs at each venue? You may love the idea of signing books for adoring fans at the local Barnes & Noble. But will you love sitting in a room by yourself, writing several hours a day? It\u2019s worth noting that what most people in a domain think is necessary to succeed may not be. Lots can change in the industry, and changes in the mechanics of media can open up opportunities to succeed without doing some things that were once necessary. For example, thanks to self-publishing, I don\u2019t have to write boring book proposals or get countless rejection letters to succeed as an author. Question 5: \u201cWhat pain do I pick?\u201d You may be really good at what\u2019s necessary to succeed at an idea that has a good chance of meeting your definition of success. But there may be some things necessary to succeed that you don\u2019t enjoy. That doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t pursue the idea. No matter what you do, there will be some parts of it you aren\u2019t crazy about \u2013 especially at first. When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was draw. But making a living at drawing as an adult doesn\u2019t fit my risk profile, and what\u2019s necessary to succeed would interfere with parts of my definition of success: I can\u2019t travel if I have to lug around supplies and artwork, and if I do all my work on a computer, then I\u2019m chained to a computer. I didn\u2019t used to like to write, but I found out I\u2019m reasonably good at it. Forcing myself to write each morning was painful at first, but through building a writing habit, it\u2019s transformed into a strangely enjoyable sort of pain. Additionally, there are parts of making a living writing that I don\u2019t like, or at least didn\u2019t at first. My first one-star review shook me for days, but now I can brush them off relatively quickly. Same with angry emails from readers. I used to really hate bookkeeping, but now that I write monthly income reports, I actually look forward to tallying up my earnings. Do you really \u201chave too many ideas,\u201d and must you \u201cpick one\u201d? After all this, you may realize you don\u2019t have \u201ctoo many ideas,\u201d and you don\u2019t really have to \u201cpick one.\u201d If you don\u2019t feel you have enough information to form a clear picture of the odds of success and your capability of success, even after asking these five questions, then you need more information. You get more information not by choosing one idea, but by pursuing many. You\u2019ll more clearly see what has a chance of succeeding and what you\u2019re capable of succeeding at, and choosing one \u2013 or several \u2013 will become easy. Image: Stage Landscape by Paul Klee About Your Host, David Kadavy David Kadavy is author of Mind Management, Not Time Management, The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. Through the Love Your Work podcast, his Love Mondays newsletter, and self-publishing coaching David helps you make it as a creative. Follow David on: Twitter Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love Your Work Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Stitcher YouTube RSS Email New bonus content on Patreon! I've been adding lots of new content to Patreon. Join the Patreon \u00bb       Show notes: https:\/\/kadavy.net\/blog\/posts\/too-many-ideas\/ ","author_name":"Love Your Work","author_url":"http:\/\/kadavy.net\/blog\/archive\/love-your-work\/","html":"