The Power of Starting Something Stupid Book Summary - The Power of Starting Something Stupid Book explained in key points

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The Power of Starting Something Stupid summary

Name: The Power of Starting Something Stupid
Rating: 4.3 (40 reviews)
Author: Richie Norton

Richie Norton

How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live Without Regret

4.3 (40 ratings)

14 mins

What is The Power of Starting Something Stupid about?

The Power of Starting Something Stupid explains why right now is the best time for you to put your fears to bed and chase your dreams. With useful tips about how you can achieve your goals and prevent living in regret, these blinks reveal how seemingly stupid ideas may actually be your key to success and fulfillment.

Table of Contents

The Power of Starting Something Stupid
summarized in 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Find out how to take your idea to the next level.

Get this into your head: there are no stupid ideas.

Too many people let their own ideas fall by the wayside because they were put off by someone thinking their ideas were stupid. So don’t let people disparage your ideas; they’re just afraid. Anyway, how are you going to live with yourself at 80 years old, never knowing if that one great idea would’ve made you rich?

How can you know if that one idea is the kernel of something special? That’s what these blinks are about. Inside, you’ll find out how “stupid” ideas are often at the core of some of the greatest economic successes. More importantly, you’ll also discover how to take action on that one idea and find out if your “stupid” idea is the one that makes you a genius.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

the difference between good stupid and bad stupid;
why farmers don’t lay their own eggs; and
what Henry Ford’s biggest weakness was.

If your idea seems a little stupid, it might actually be your best bet for success.

We’ve all been through it: you come up with a great idea and can’t wait to share it with your friends, who promptly crush your enthusiasm by declaring that it’s ridiculous. Don't let it get to you! If you are deeply convinced of it, your “stupid” idea can take you down the path to success and happiness.

In fact, seemingly stupid ideas have often formed some of the world´s leading innovations and businesses. People label new ideas as stupid because of doubt, fear, confusion or lack of understanding. How about “doggles”? – fashion sunglasses made for dogs. Would you have guessed that they’re bringing in around $3 million per year?

The truth is that sometimes the greatest successes come as a total surprise. For example, in 1876, Western Union rejected the telephone, stating that “the device is inherently of no value to us.” Imagine the shock on their faces today!

Many of the world´s leading entrepreneurs had to have their ideas rejected time and time again and, nevertheless, stuck by their goals, recognizing that their apparently stupid idea was not at all like other stupid ideas.

You can make this distinction too, by thinking of those vaguely ridiculous ideas simply as the New Smart. Differentiating between plain dumb ideas and the New Smart is the first step to success. But how?

You’ve got to trust your instincts. There’s no real rational way to determine whether an idea is truly stupid or merely labelled as such. You can only know that you are deeply convinced and strongly believe in it. The former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, described this trust by saying: “You know it when you feel it.”

Not only will this trust in your idea help you differentiate between the stupid and the New Smart, it will also give you the courage to go after your idea, even when people tell you not to. The next blink explains why you shouldn’t hesitate over your idea, unless you want to look back on your life with some serious regrets!

Don’t just wait until you’ve got the time and money to pursue your dreams.

Imagine you’re 80 years old, sitting in your rocking chair, looking back at your life and thinking, “I wish I’d gone after that foolish idea I had back then.” Awful, right? If there’s anything you need in your old age, it’s the knowledge that you did everything possible to live your dreams while you were still able to.

Unfortunately, there’s always an excuse for not pursuing your dreams right this moment. Many people live by the deferred life plan, meaning they first do what they have to do (earn money) and only then do what they want to do. This leads people to try to get rich fast and then attempt to live their dreams.

Make your idea feasible by breaking it into smaller projects and embracing change.

There’s nothing quite as daunting as beginning a project. The goal you’re striving for can seem huge and far away. How can you make sure you don’t get lost along the way?

Breaking your big future benchmark of success into smaller steps will keep you motivated. For example, if you’re dreaming of becoming a successful blogger, you can start with several smaller projects, such as writing your first posts and achieving a certain number of views per month.

Leave the comfort zone that keeps you from pursuing your dreams.

We’re all afraid of failure, and nobody wants to admit that their plan isn’t working. But bold ideas require courage, and crushing your fear of failure is the first step towards your goal.

How can we learn to be brave?

Build a trusted network to increase your resources.

If you’re determined to succeed on your own, you’re only making things harder for yourself. By surrounding yourself with knowledgeable people, you’ll have a supportive safety net that you can rely on, even just for something like a second opinion. So how can we build ourselves these networks?

One way is to approach someone who has already been through what you’re doing. For example, if you want to pitch an idea for a business to a group of investors, you can ask for advice from someone who successfully pitched her work to the group.

Get closer to your goals by leveraging your existing resources.

Once you start building a trusted network around you, you’ll find the resources available to you increase. Whether it’s money, advice or experience, you can find what you’re looking for among your network.

Getting fixated on what you don’t have is not going to get your idea moving. Instead, you should make do with what you’ve got and embrace ingenuity. In fact, many businesses achieve success by being resourceful and leveraging what they have.

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Best quote from The Power of Starting Something Stupid

A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts. - former UK Prime Minister Harold MacMillan

—Richie Norton

About the Author

Richie Norton is an entrepreneur and international business development consultant. In addition, he runs the acclaimed blog Start Stuff, and in 2012 he published the bestseller Resumes are Dead and What To Do About It.

Who should read The Power of Starting Something Stupid?

Anyone with a great idea that they’d turn into reality, if they weren’t so afraid
Anyone who wants to take on a project but doesn’t know where to start
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