ideas

You know, I think one of the reasons that it is difficult to keep a blog updated regularly is that every time you connect to the internet, unless you are an incredibly focused person, there are so many things to distract and entertain you that soon seconds, mintues and sometimes hours go by, at the end of which you're exhausted and you realize you didn't accomplish anything you set out to when you first got on.

I enjoy learning about other people's lives, what they're doing and thinking, seeing what is in the mind of the creative human. I've never been able to see so many neat ideas and projects. But at some point, I've got to be able to contribute something myself. It's one thing to have beautiful dreams in your head, and some people need to begin there, to rediscover the wonder of a child. However, I think that one of the defining characteristics of becoming an adult is being able to put your hand to something skillfully and diligently and see it through to completion with excellence. To take an idea and produce something from it.

I think this is the struggle for most people about my age, including myself. I recently read an article by Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars, some of the finest guitars in the world, and he was talking about ideas:

I wouldn't want to say that ideas are a dime a dozen, because they're not, but the truly hard part is taking an idea and turning it into a legitimate product and business. Once a person experiences both risks and rewards, they usually have a different viewpoint about how important the idea is.

What do we do with all the ever-increasing amount of information and ideas that is at our fingertips? Do we have the correct filters in place to sort through it all effectively use it? Do we have a good measure for being able to determine what ideas are important?