When was the last time you flirted?

When was the last time you flirted? I’m sure we’ve all done it at some point. Do you remember that exciting, fluttery feeling in your tummy? The long glances, the playful conversation?

Now – imagine that very same scenario, only without the handsome stranger or the attractive lady. Instead there is an idea. A concept. A notion. You see it across a crowded room, full of other ideas. It stands out; it seems to crave your attention as your mind is constantly drawn to it. There’s something about that idea that pulls you in.

At this point, you have no clue whether or not this idea is right for you to pursue. You haven’t yet seen it from every angle and you haven’t been able to explore it in detail. For all you know, it could turn out to be bland or boring! But for now, you are curious and you keep an open mind. Because – who knows? This could be the life-changing idea you’ve been waiting for.

We all have ideas, some of which are good and some not so good. But the great thing about ideas is that you cannot have too many of them! You can, however, implement too many ideas. We should always be very selective about which ideas we pick up and run with. Just because an idea is good, doesn’t mean it’s the right one to bring in right now.

I’d like to encourage you to keep a Little Black Book of ideas, where you note down all your objects of flirtation. This can be an actual notebook, an iPad app or a dictaphone – whatever you are comfortable with. But make sure you document the ideas you have, keep an eye on them and entertain them from time to time. You may find that you have ideas from a previous phase in your life which don’t come into fruition until many years later, when you have the resources and the knowledge to bring them to life.

One thing that we do on a regular basis in Success Groups is to encourage what we call cross-pollination of ideas. This is where we bring our members together and help them to build innovative bridges between their various businesses and activities, by fusing – sometimes radically different – business models and approaches. We’ve seen some incredibly exciting new products and solutions emerge from these sessions, some of which have gone on to become very lucrative new ventures. What we see is that innovation and creativity really has no borders.

So, here’s my challenge to you: Next time you get an idea, even one that seems way too ambitious or daring or outrageous, just flirt with it! Spend some time with it. Pay attention to what it’s trying to tell you. If it doesn’t feel right for the here and the now; note it down. Keep it with you. Maybe even introduce it to someone else who could fall in love with it.

Keep flirting and sooner or later, you will get lucky!