When I was just starting to dip my toe into the riptide of entrepreneurship, I used to be super protective of my ideas.
I may tell friends and family, but the last thing I considered doing was discussing the idea with acquaintances much less random people at the bar.
The topic of this post is far, far from original.
But heck, they say nothing in this world is new under the sun so perhaps that’s a given.
Why is it that we are hesitant to tell people about our ideas?
Well, I can tell you why I was and still am often hesitant to share the deep dark secrets of my creative mind.
Vulnerability (Our Kryptonite)
Let’s be honest.
When you tell someone one of your crazy ideas, it’s kinda like telling someone a deep dark secret of yours.
It’s weird how similar it is.
People are either going to accept your idea or reject it.
And this plays perfectly into our pre-programmed, biological fear of rejection.
We are hesitant to tell other people about our ideas because of fear of rejection.
Think about this in your own life.
I have a friend who is so overly positive and optimistic, that I could tell him I had a new business idea to refill plastic water bottles and sell them at a 50% discount to manufacturers’ sealed water bottles.
And he would LOVE it!
He would tell me it’s a freaking fantastic idea.
I also have a long time best friend of mine who is the complete opposite.
And in fact, as I write this post, I have almost completely stopped sharing ideas with him because it’s so dang hard to get positive feedback from him.
He’s not particularly a cynic by any means, but when I open up and share the deep dark secrets of my creative mind, I always leave the conversation with less energy and enthusiasm for it.
And this, I fear, is a danger to great entrepreneurship.
The unfortunate reality about sharing ideas is that it’s almost exactly the same as sharing a deep dark secret about yourself.
Let’s be real friends, we all have them.
You know, that strange thing that you…
Well, let’s move on.
Stop Giving a Crap (Our Antidote)
For all you wantrepreneurs out there, my advice is simple.
Stop giving a [you know what] about what other people think about you, your ideas, how you dress, what you say, what you like, when you go to sleep, what you do in your free time, what kind of food you eat, what kind of things you like.
Just stop caring.
Right now.
Make yourself a vow.
I am so inspired by Quentin Tarantino.
His films are so different and creatively unique.
If you haven’t seen any of his films, for goodness sake add them to your Netflix queue for this weekend.
Why Quentin Tarantino?
He does not care about what other people think of his films.
He makes the films that he likes.
And look at his success.
Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Django to name a few of many excellent films.
It doesn’t take a film critic to know this guy has abandoned all forms of expectation around movie writing and production and chosen to completely do his own thing.
If you were to take one thing away from this article, better yet, this website:
Don’t just embrace your uniqueness and true self, run towards it and abandon all forms of culture and expectation that don’t suit you.
This is what I miss most about San Francisco.
For all it’s good and bad, the people there are so open-minded that it creates this beautiful world where people live in a culture of individuality.
The expectation is to be your complete, ugly, imperfect self.
You want to tie a shoe to your belt loop and just let it hang next to your knee?
Cool.
You want to ride a bicycle through the Castro completely naked with just a hat and sunglasses on?
Cool.
Do you want to run naked across SF during Bay to Breakers?
Cool.
This city is beautifully unique and full of true individuals.
And in my humble opinion, the fundamental key to becoming a true creator, disruptor, and [insert other cool entrepreneurship-related buzzwords here], is to be your complete and unapologetic self.
Not only do you owe that to your friends, family, and most importantly yourself, but also this is a critical gateway drug to moving into a world where validation won’t come until years later.
It’s a lonely road you’re embarking on.
May as well find yourself before setting out on your own.