Follow Your Passions

“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.”
- Immanuel Kant

“When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.”
- Colleen C Barrett

Intelligence is knowing it is raining outside. Wisdom is coming in from the rain.

Without possessing the wisdom to do something with knowledge, it really matters very little how much information an individual accumulates. Have you ever known people who could soak up information like a sponge, ace every exam in school they took, but seemed to have so little common sense it was almost pitiable?

In a sense, ideas are like knowledge. Without actions to implement the ideas, there is very limited value to the ideas. I have known for some time that I am an “idea man”. Every day that passes, I get better at seeing the possibilities in something, I see opportunities when they present themselves rather than walk by them blissfully unaware. And even though I have changed significantly in my ability to take action on the ideas, it is still extremely frustrating sometimes to have all these unimplemented ideas inside my skull.

I say that I have changed as far as my will and ability to take action is concerned. At first, I would simply be too lazy to go about trying to get much done with them. I’d have them, then I’d put a plan in place to play a bunch of video games with friends, and leave the idea cold and alone, desperate for a nice cozy scarf or something. Then I got up the gumption to actually take a stab at implementing the ideas, but I wouldn’t have any real order or foresight about how to properly go about it. It would come out half-baked, I’d get frustrated and bored with it, and I’d move on. Finally, I reach the current stage in my life, where I have a pretty high success rate of implementing ideas, but I’m always tempted to take on too much at once, and I either burn out or some of the balls I’m juggling get dropped and fall through the cracks.

So I’m in the process of scaling back my life, and trying to be very aware of my limitations. I’ve learned to just say no, and I’m focusing on just the things I feel the most passionate about, where I can do the most good with the particular strengths I possess. But that doesn’t mean I stop having all these other ideas come my way. I just don’t have the time to take them anywhere near an implementation stage at this particular point in my life.

Stay tuned in the months ahead for tools to help you manage your ideas, take them into action, and recognize what your limits are and when you’ve exceeded them.