All of the above is fine, but how do I begin to translate that passion for an idea into reality?
There are no magic formulas for this, but there is a way of proceeding with a lot of common sense and that has helped me many times.
The first step is the most important. It involves making an effort to reflect the WHY behind our idea on paper. It is not about writing “novels” but rather summarizing on one page the essential reasons that lead us to believe in the idea we are proposing. We must be able to put this reason or reasons down in writing in such a way that when we reread them, we are amazed by the meaning of the approach. If what we have written makes us “fall in love” with it, generates the excitement to tell whoever we need to tell, then we have something interesting on our hands. If we don’t fall in love with it, if we’re not excited to carry it out, then it’s better to keep reflecting on the idea and its “why.”
It seems easy, but it’s not. Summarizing in a few words, no more than one or two sentences, the essence of what we think is a good idea that deserves to be put into practice is not easy at all.
It’s curious, but experience has shown me that the capacity for abstraction, which allows us to do things without actually doing them, just by imagining them, is very rare. For some reason, we tend to act without spending enough time reflecting beforehand. Without understanding and writing down why we are going to do something. The negative consequences of this shortcoming are not long in coming. Without being very clear about why, the goal we are pursuing, it is almost certain that the actions we take will very soon stray from the path that leads to the realization of the original idea that motivates us.
The lack of financial resources due to insufficient savings is one of the main causes of vulnerability among families, especially those living on limited means. These resources would enable them to eliminate their dependence on usury, access better food, housing, health, and education, and invest in improving their businesses. We are going to help individuals/families build capital (generate the financial resources they currently lack) through a collaborative economy project and education in saving and long-term financial management.”
Once we have put the idea down in writing, briefly, clearly, and attractively, we can move on to the specifics. Never before. But let’s make sure we have conveyed something in the “why” that can really capture the interest of the target audience.
Take, for example, the “why” behind the Ahorrar para Aprender (Save to Learn) project developed since 2014 by Fundación I&C, Inversión y Cooperación:
The next step will be to also write down WHAT we are going to do and HOW we are going to do it. WHAT can be a clear summary of the products or services offered. HOW has a lot to do with values and strengths, with those aspects that make us different from the competition. But we will talk about both of these things another time.
The following video by Simon Sinek on this topic is worth watching:
