Beware, if it is someone else’s idea.

It has taken me a lifetime to learn the ramifications of spending energy on what does not belong to me. It has nothing to do about what is right or wrong. Also it’s not a matter of good or bad. It is about commission. Also words like interest, satisfaction, enjoyment, etc would be applicable. I prefer to use the word commission because it signifies a numerical value.

Here is my point. An idea is “the central meaning or chief end of a particular action or situation.” It is something I have to own before I can cut it up into pieces. I can’t share something that does not belong to me. If I am investing energy into a particular action or situation and someone or something also has a part of the investment, I will be indebted to pay a commission. ‘Something’ being circumstances influencing the concept of an idea.

Here is an example for consideration. Being self employed or working for someone else is the same. I have often heard the remark “I worked for the company for 40 years and all I got was a gold watch.” My reply to that is “What did you expect?” Would it not be better to say and mean, “I worked for myself at the company for 40 years and made a good living.” Here is where we can get into trouble. It is when we expect something after the fact. One could say the same thing about a marriage. “I worked hard and after so many years I ended up divorced.” Now I must ask the question, who’s idea was it to take the job or get married in the first place. If it was not truly and wholly my idea then someone or something was charging me a commission and I didn’t realize it. I contend that if I don’t own 100% of the idea I will not be able to expect 100% satisfaction from it. Anything less than 100% will result in a degree of disappointment. The degree of disappointment is the exact amount of commission owed to someone or something that doesn’t belong to me.

I think of an idea as being very personal. It is very close, if not next to, our soul. When I think about it I contend that our creativity and growth is seeded deep inside of us and is what makes us human. As I look back over my life experiences I will be the first to admit that I thought of ideas as being kits that can be purchased or suggested by others and put together as projects. I jumped on an idea from someone else and thought is was so good that I invested a lot of hours and $30,000.00 only to end up with a big nothing, except for the experience learned from it… which is why I am sharing this with you today.

An idea is the most powerful thought one can have and is the beginning of everything. I contend that if we realize how personal and important the seeds (ideas) of our thoughts are, we can better appreciate and understand the end of the particular action or situation we are striving for.

An idea is like a pie. We don’t cut it into pieces until it is baked!

Here is a list of very simple questions to begin this conversation.
Did I just buy the new car or did the salesman sell it to you?
Did I go to the doctor today because someone else suggest the idea?
Did I choose to get married or was I a victim of circumstances?
Did I choose to have a new born in your life?
Did I make a decision today because it was my idea or…?

Am I making any sense? Robert Altfather