So I’m getting into Making Ideas Happen by Behance’s Scott Belsky. It’s a great book so far, and it’s already got me thinking about what it is that makes “doing something” as difficult as it is.

It seems like there are an endless amount of “thinkers”, people who simply wax theoretical on things but never actually follow through. To the same degree, there are plenty of “doers” as well, people who exist solely to execute the vision of others. What we really need more of, and what I’m endeavoring to be, is “thinkers-and-doers”, a hybrid that not only has the creative ability and long-term vision, but also the drive and follow through to bring those ideas to fruition.

I started thinking about all the things that keep me from following through on my ideas, and over time, most of them could be systematically discounted as “not really great reasons”. Then I got to thinking about what would be some legitimate reasons for not acting.

Here’s two:

1) It could hurt someone - Doesn’t matter if it’s physically, emotionally, or monetarily. If you’re idea/action could lead to harm, you better think it through. Now I’m not talking about “bucking the status quo” or “fighting the man….man” but things like “I’m going to run this investment pool with a Ouija board!” or “I’m pretty sure I can jump this motorcycle over that preschool playground!” – you see the difference.

2) You can’t adjust/amend/iterate – If your idea is being presented, ran, launched (physically), or otherwise needs to be in a final form, running with anything other than a complete version would be shortchanging it. Things like paintings, rockets, pilot episodes, etc. need to be ready before they go.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against action, in fact I’m all for it now, but sometimes you have to know when to take a little more time to make sure it’s right.

Those are just two that I came up with, do you have any more?