Nagging is Best

So, you’ve had a lightbulb moment. Maybe it’s a gut feeling telling you to do something, or maybe a rough week at work has you thinking, “You know what? I’ve had enough of this. Time to be my own boss!” Sounds great, right? Just quit and get started? Maybe—but hang on a sec. There are a few simple steps to think about before diving in headfirst.

When I was younger, I was super impulsive. I’d come up with a million ideas, get all hyped up, and jump right into something new. But here’s the thing—I’d rarely finish what I started. I was all about the rush of fresh ideas, seeing the big picture, imagining the grand finale… but I’d completely skip over the part where it takes months (or years) of hard work to get there. So, I’d start a project, dabble a bit, and then get distracted by the next shiny idea.

One time, I even quit a great job to become a professional golfer. Yep, I’d already tried it earlier in life, but I figured, why not give it another shot? I can still picture the look on my partner’s face when I told her I quit. Spoiler alert: It didn’t take long for me to realise (while freezing on the range, hitting hundreds of balls every day) that maybe—just maybe—this wasn’t my best plan. Thankfully, my boss was kind enough to give me my old job back. Crisis averted.

Over time, I came up with a simple system that works for me—and it’s all about letting ideas “nag” me. Here’s how it goes: whenever I get a lightbulb moment (and trust me, there are plenty), I jot it down in a little red notebook. I write out all the details floating in my head, then go back to whatever I was doing. Every few weeks, I revisit the notebook and usually have a good laugh as I delete some of the more ridiculous ideas. But some ideas stick—they keep nagging at me. If an idea survives this culling process, I know it’s worth a closer look. I start talking about it, noticing connections in my daily life, and digging deeper.

If an idea keeps nudging me, I move to the next step: figuring out what it’ll actually take to make it happen. Here’s the hard truth: ideas are cheap—it’s the execution that matters. Nothing kills an idea you’re not truly passionate about faster than mapping out all the work required to make it real. At this point, you might realise you don’t have the skills, team, or resources you need, and that’s fine—it just shows you what kind of learning and effort the journey will take.

At this stage I also like to figure out where my product or service fits, am I just copying something, or is it brand new, read a little more in a post on To Copy or Not to Copy.

This blog, for instance, has been years in the making. I always knew I wanted to teach or share something valuable, but my ideas bounced between topics like finance, software, electronics, and even debt management. Every time I tried to map out the steps, though, my excitement fizzled. That’s when I realised some of these ideas were hobbies or just mentally stimulating—not things I wanted to commit serious time to.

Then I came across “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (tough, but great read, by the way). It hit me that what I truly love is talking about products and businesses—how they start, their models, the people behind them, and all the fascinating stories that go with it. Suddenly, the idea of building a complete content set for the New Business Pilot wasn’t daunting—it was exciting. That’s when I knew I had to move forward.

When you find an idea that really clicks, you’ll feel it—it might make you smile or even laugh when you think about it. That’s when you know it’s time to take the leap. But instead of rushing straight into “build mode” like I used to, I’ve learned to pause. I check if I’m ready—physically, mentally, financially—and do a little groundwork to make sure the idea is worth pursuing.

It might seem like procrastination, but trust me, it’s not. A little extra reflection and analysis can save you from jumping into the wrong thing. Your time is valuable, so taking a moment to think it through is absolutely worth it.

Stick around for the next post, “It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint,” where we’ll do a quick check to see if you’re ready to be a pilot. See you there!