It all starts with an idea – just take the next step.

“It all starts with an idea.” 

That was the default title of the blog page.

It does all start with an idea, but we have a ton of ideas every day, about a vast degree of things.     

I think step 0, or the prerequisite rather, is the idea. I think, to some extent, it starts with the first action. No matter how trivial, inappropriate, unrelated, non-sensical…well, you get idea. The point is everyone has ideas, but the starting point is the first step, many of us don’t act on the ideas we have for one reason or another.  It’s the conviction to begin and then to persist that really matters. These are Step 1 and Step 2, respectively.

A quote I think about often is “just take the next step, no more, no less, and the next will be revealed to you.”

Sometimes having no plan and approaching the thing with a whimsical nature, to go with the flow and take things in your stride, keeps the process enjoyable and fun. Mapping out all the steps can certainly have its benefits, but from a place of unknowing, it’s hard to predict what several steps ahead of you will look like. The idea of a plan for something that has barely begun can almost be as intimidating as doing the thing itself.

Unless, of course, you make that plan dynamic.

In which case, Step ‘n’ (a general step in the process) changes, every time you make a new estimation of any piece of your endeavour. I’m not entirely sure why, but we’re made to feel uneasy about synthesising or creating anything that exists in our minds. We assume, without even getting started, because of our uncertainty of the steps it’ll likely be an impossible task. But I think overcoming that assumption, is freedom.

Freedom to act on our ideas, irrespective of outcome. Venturing into the unknown with no direction, no compass, no map, just because you had an idea with a bit of intrigue, you get to have an adventure. Realistically, you will have some direction, the world is a big place connected more so than ever before. And through that connectivity you will likely find something or someone who can provide guidance (directly or indirectly), and that is enough of a bearing to at least to get us in the right direction when we are truly lost. Discovery is part of the fun though, so let’s not ignore the benefits that exploration through our own means can give us.

So when the moment comes to execute on an idea, “Just take the next step, no more, no less, and the next will be revealed to you.”

Meiji Jingu, Tokyo, Japan. A Long, But Pleasant Path To The Temple