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"How do you know when an idea is just too stupid?"

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You ever wondered about that Reader?

Many students have asked me, how do you determine what's a stupid idea? How do you know when an idea is really, really dumb, crazy, pointless, and worthless?

One of my favorite answers goes like this: Try to imagine now that someone comes to you with a jar, a glass jar.

You can see in the jar that there's this sort of milky gelatos-like fluid sitting in there. It's not pretty in any way, shape, or form because it could be dirty for all you know, and it's sitting in this jar. And this person who brings this to you is so excited.

"It's like, look what I've made; look what I've discovered here."

And you say, "Well, what is it?"

And they say, "It's gelatin, kind of. It's, it's, it pours into your hand, but it's kind of solid. It's not water. It's not like, Um, it's not like mud, but it's plastic. But you know, you can kind of it will drip between your fingers, but it's not really spilling.

It's sort of like dripping. And it's not quite molasses—it's thicker than molasses."

You're trying to be patient so you say, "And well, okay, okay, great. So you're telling me it's kind of this and that. What can you do with it?"

"Well, you can let it drip from your hand, pour it into different shapes, and squeeze it, you know. Squeeze it until it, you know, gushes between your fingers."

"Yeah, but what, what can we do with it? What is it good for?"

"I don't know yet, but it's really cool, don't you think? Huh?"

When your patience finally runs out, you're probably going to send this person from the office, possibly from the building, definitely off the payroll.

Because your company makes action figures, it also makes ray guns, things that go bang, and that's what you can sell.

What are you supposed to do with some stupid stuff that drips?

Then, at some point, someone figures out, you call it ooze, put it in some sort of a plastic tub, put it on the market, and tell the kids, this is fun because it can drip, and it's nasty, and it's goopy, and the kids will play with it.

And suddenly, you have a million-dollar product.

Later, someone realizes it's like a substance or character in a popular kids' cartoon show. You connect with them, give your ooze another name like Slime, and you have a multi-million dollar product.

So what's stupid? What is crazy?

Stupid is how we might think of something until we actually find a real purpose, market, or audience for it. And how do you do that? You give it time to develop.

It's the same thing with stories.

Best,

Alex Simmons

PS. For more of my insight on this matter, check out this short Simmons Says #11 video, "When Is An Idea Too Crazy?"​

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