In the month of April, I’m sharing life lessons learned from children’s books.
Our first book is a Christmas gift I received from my coach, Kim Avery. Inside the package was this book, What Can You Do with an Idea?, by Kobi Yamada.
As I looked at the book, I thought it was a little strange. Why was she sending me a children’s book? When I read the book, I found it contained great wisdom and inspiration.
A child has an idea. The child is annoyed with it at first. Ignoring it and hoping it goes away doesn’t get rid of it. The idea keeps hanging around. The idea starts to grow on the child, but the child is worried about what others will think. Eventually, the child starts liking the idea and starts feeding it. They become friends. The idea grows and develops. It becomes a bigger part of the child’s life. It becomes more and more a part of the world. The child eventually realizes that the idea he grew and developed can change the world.
Here’s what I learned by reading this children’s book:
- Ideas are not totally formed at first. It takes time for them to take shape and form.
- Own your idea. Give it attention. Hone it. Bring it out into the open. As it grows, it will help you think bigger and bigger.
- Share your idea with others. It is risky. Do it anyway. They may not understand or like your idea. But that’s ok. There will be people who do like and appreciate your idea. Spend more time with those people. (Feedback from critics can be helpful, too.)
- Eventually you will see the world through the eyes of your idea – everything you see and do will relate to your idea. That‘s good, because your idea is part of your purpose here on earth.
- By bringing your idea to life, you can change the world. Maybe in small ways, maybe in big ways. It’s not the size of the change that matters, but the fact that you acted on your idea.
I shared this book with a client I’ve been working with for a few years. She has a powerful vision that started out as an idea, an idea to help people with one little thing. It has grown and taken shape over the past several years. Everyone doesn’t understand the idea or believe in it. Those who do are passionate about it and really want to help her succeed.
Over the past several months, the idea has grown to the point where my client sees everything she does through the lens of her idea. Everywhere she looks, she sees her idea in some way. It’s grown to the point where it’s ready to launch. I believe the world will be better because of her idea.
What idea is forming and growing in your mind? How do you need to feed it and support it?
