Ideas come easy to many in the software/design/programming industry. We see problems with interfaces daily and we jot down another note in a secret spot for our future grand idea.

Unfortunately for 90% of us, 100% of the ideas stay in that notebook.

One of the lessons passed to me as a child is you can’t just have dreams, you have to do something about making them happen. You must get up, leave the cave, hunt something down, kill it, drag it back to the cave, cook it, and then you get to eat it. Roast duck does not fly in the window precooked.

I’m no different really. I’ve started 3 books and not finished them. I’ve got 3 or 4 WordPress plugins that could be small commercial products that I haven’t put the time in to to get them that last 10% finished.

Dreamers

We’re dreamers for the most part and a very few of us are finishers. We want to go it alone because in our dream we triumph through great adversity alone. The thing is dreamers aren’t great finishers.

Finishers

Finishers are a different breed from dreamers. They may not come up with as many ideas, but when they have one it gets done. They don’t care how it gets done. They take on partners or sell stuff, they just want to finish the idea. They aren’t in it for the romantic battle with adversity.

So if you’re a Dreamer, get a Finisher to work with or learn to become a finisher. I’m working to become a finisher by having my wife ask me for an update on the book every Friday. I want to tell her progress was made, so I make progress.

Once I get through the launch of the book I get to spend some time working on another idea. Until then I give weekly reports.

Who’s going to be your finisher?

Quote from Entreleadership (amazon affiliate)