The Necessity Of Oversimplified Plans, Bold Ideas, and Cheesy Dreams

I hate ‘big ideas’ because usually, they’re not actually big… they’re just general, non-unique, bland platitudes.

 

• “Become rich.”

• “Become famous.”

• “Run a successful company doing X.”

• “Launch new hot product X.”

• “Be great at X.”

• “Help people like me.”

 

It’s easy to see the repetition in other people, but your plans and dreams are most likely cookie-cutter as well. (Reading other people’s bucket lists helped me see how un-unique I was.)

 

But, it’s also clear that oversimplified messaging, for yourself and for others, is necessary.

 

1. It’s easier to build excitement and drive action for one big idea than a multitude of small details.

2. It is impossible to plan for all details anyway, or to explain them all if you could plan for them.

 

“Keep Calm And Carry On.” – Simple words keep a national war machine grinding.

 

“Just Do It.” – Summing up a winning athlete’s ethos for all sports.

 

“Be Financially Free.” – Perhaps your internal affirmation, representing a dream you have for your life.

 

The simplicity of these ideas is where they draw their power to drive a nation, an athlete, and you.

 

But I believe you shouldn’t allow apparent simplicity to hide the true complexity behind the words. In fact, you should expect complexity and search for it.

 

If Legitimate, Simple Statements Are Backed Up By Meticulous Plans

 

You cannot imagine the manufacturing, the shipping, the recruiting, and the fighting that prepares a nation to “Keep Calm And Carry On”.

 

How much  training, coaching, promoting, and stadium upkeep allows an athlete to “Just Do It” on game day?

 

Even your individual goals, “Financial Freedom” perhaps, require meticulous planning, genuinely good ideas, and of course long-term focus on execution.

 

Plan The Complexity Behind The Simplicity

 

Without a plan, an idea is a cookie cutter platitude.

 

With detailed plans, the same idea is a representation of something more.

 

With or without legitimacy, words can be just as convincing. Learning to spot the legitimacy in other people is a learned skill.

 

Today, you’ll probably get more benefit checking your own goals, plans, and dreams.

 

Do you have plans or platitudes?

 

Bold statements, oversimplified explanations, and big dreams are necessary and motivating, but the plans behind them make the difference between a visionary and a con artist. (even if you’re just conning yourself.)