I Have an Idea!

Miss P says this phrase often, "I have an idea!" I'm assuming I must say it pretty often myself. So, when we went to Barnes & Noble (I miss brick and mortar bookstores SO much!) to pick up a book I wanted to start reading ASAP, and visited the children's book section, of course the book placed on the front table titled, What do You do With an Idea?, jumped right out at me. I'm a very price conscience shopper, if you've read my other blog posts, you know why, so when I flipped the book over and saw that the retail price was $16.95, I put it right back down. Well Miss P loves books, so we found ourselves sitting and reading in another section, and there the book was again, so we read it.

Friends. Let me just tell you, this is the most inspirational children's story I have ever read. It starts out that one day, this child has an idea. It talks about how ideas are sometimes scary and confusing and bothersome, and then when you decide to share your ideas with others, people talk down about them and poo poo them. And then about halfway through the author writes...

"But then I realized, what do they really know? This is MY idea, I thought. No one knows it like I do. And it's okay if it's different, and weird, and maybe a little crazy.

I decided to protect it, to care for it. I fed it good food. I worked with it, I played with it. But most of all, I gave it my attention."

And then the author ties it all together at the end with...

"And then, I realized what you do with an idea...

You change the world."

I don't know about you, but there have definitely been ideas throughout my life that have come and gone because other people weighed in on them negatively, or because I thought they were too big and intimidating. I have always wanted to own my own business, but have never taken a full leap of faith to do so. I vividly remember talking to a friend's mom on their back porch one summer day about opening a coffee stand when I was about 19. She had owned her own business and asked all kinds of good questions that made me feel empowered. Like I could actually make it happen some day. Life has veered here and there, and my ideas have changed, but my original idea is where it all started. I have a nagging idea that has been tagging along with me for a little over a year now, and this children's story, that I never would have found if a brick and mortar bookstore did not still exist, has inspired me to explore it more. To give it my attention. As a stay at home mom with a toddler and baby on the way, it has been very easy to put my idea on the shelf and tell myself it is not the right time, but I won't really know that until I give it some attention and prayerfully seek where I should head with it. So, thank you Kobi Yamada for writing this beautiful story, and for inspiring me to not ignore my idea. Thank you to the women that have gone before me as business owners and entrepreneurs. Thank you to all the people in my life that are gifted with the spirit of encouragement. I don't think my idea will change the world, but if given the opportunity, it could positively impact my community.

For any of you out there that have an idea, whether it's a business, a course of study, a future career, a non-profit, a job change, a relationship, or anything in between, I want to encourage you to not ignore it. You may not ever bring it to fruition, but at the end of your life, you don't want to be left doubting. I truly believe that the only way you will fail in your idea is by not giving it the opportunity to be explored. I would encourage you to read this book. (I would have typed out the whole story, but I think that would have been a copyright issue.) It was an inspiration to me, and I hope it is to you too!

You can find it here, on Amazon, if a brick and mortar store is not within driving distance for you.