do ideas matter?

Everyone tells stories. Every day, we choose the story we tell ourselves, about ourselves, for ourselves. Usually we call these stories ‘ideas’. Ideas shape us – who we are, what we think, and even the way we perceive the world around us. Can I choose to be happy? Can I shift my perception of the world around me? Is my whole-self greater than the sum of my thoughts?

Ideas are common. Everybody has ideas. Ideas are highly, highly overvalued. Execution is all that matters.

This is from one of my favorite filmmakers/media personalities, Casey Neistat. My younger self would have contested this quote. Ideas are so important! Sure, ideas are important, but they are nothing if you don’t act on them. The ability to act on an idea makes it much more valuable that simply the idea itself. One of the clearest manifestations of this, to me, is a startup. Startups are founded on ideas; and usually not much more! They are a person (usually a couple of people), an idea, and a dream about what could be. What prevents the next Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey from achieving the feats that they have? Execution.

Great builders are always great operators. Not all startup founders are great operators, which is one reason why most startups fail. The ability to be a great operator seems to have a few tendencies that are transferable regardless of the field that they exist in.

What are these tendencies? These are a few, but certainly not all of the tendencies that I think great operators have:

• Constantly making small changes that navigate towards a goal
• Surrounded by people that push them to be better
• Extreme dedication towards an end (but the ability to adjust when needed)
• Passion for their work

Why do I bring all of this up? Mostly to remind myself what matters. When you’re in the thick of it, it’s easy to revert back to old habits. Right now, I’m trying to craft a new story. Burn the boats. Execute relentlessly.