Knowing What You Want

Some people know from the day that they are born what they wish to achieve, while many others spend the rest of their life trying to figure out what they really want.

I remember reading a book that talks about how people with many ideas end up not going anywhere and some people who are not particularly smart but end up being successful as they stick to one good idea and did not give up even when failing is imminent.

To elaborate further, people with many ideas tends to think of many fantastic and original ideas which are all feasible. However having too many ideas also mean that it is hard to decide and when they meet with a tough obstacle in one idea, they can easily drop the current idea and re-invest their time on another good idea.

Conversely, people who doesn’t have much of a good idea has no alternatives and usually they will work on one single good idea and persistently stick to it as failure would have a big opportunistic cost as they are scared that they will not be able to have a chance to venture in a good idea anymore.

A seed that has the potential to grow into a strong tree does not happen overnight. It has its fair share of weathering tough weathers, competition for sunlight from bigger plants and fighting for nutrients before it can grow to be strong. Similarly, an idea needs to weather through obstacles and stand the test of time and environment before it can blossom.
A car that travels at 60mph does not necessary mean that it will reach the destination faster than a man on a bicycle if it is actually running around from point to point instead of heading straight for the objectives.

It therefore brings to the point that speed is not the key to success. Speed without direction makes things uncontrollable and just make it easier for things to move towards a cliff of failure. Being slow and steady with a firm direction towards the goal in mind will provide a destination and timeline to success.

However creativity does not mean bad as in the short run, creativity in doing things does help people in crossing obstacles and expanding their horizons to reach their destination faster. Having creativity that spurs you nearer towards your goal is tantamount to adding speed to your direction. Hence being steadfast to an idea gives one direction while being flexible and creative in the short run gives speed to the direction and brings a person closer to their goals. Balance is once again the key =)

~Speed with direction comes from the treatment towards creativity~
James Tan