Powerful Student's Stories #11 - The Misconception About Ideas—Why They’re Not Just a "One-Time Thing"

People often think of ideas as these rare, magical moments. Like you just need one great idea in your life, and that’s it—you’ve made it. But that’s not how it works.

An idea isn’t a single spark. It’s not something you get once and then just execute. It’s actually an ongoing process, a constant accumulation of thoughts, refinements, and connections.

Take building a business, for example. It’s not about having one idea—you need a thousand. And ironically, once you’re deep in the process, ideas don’t feel like rare gems anymore—they start feeling like distractions. They pull you in different directions, challenge your focus, make you second-guess things.

Ideas Attract More Ideas

Here’s what I’ve learned: Ideas don’t come in isolation.

When you actively work on something, new ideas naturally appear—because you need them. You have to define your creation in so many ways:

• How does it work?

• Who is it for?

• What makes it different?

• How do people experience it?

Every step leads to more ideas, and suddenly, the challenge isn’t coming up with ideas—it’s sorting through them. Separating the wheat from the chaff. Distinguishing what actually adds value from what’s just noise.

The Power of Starting Naively

This is why I say: Just start. Pick any idea. Doesn’t matter if it’s not “perfect.” Because once you start building around it, you’ll see what you need to learn, what gaps exist, and how to organize it all into something that actually makes sense.

And that’s where the real learning happens.

It’s not just about having ideas—it’s about curating them, refining them, and turning them into something people actually want.

So next time you think, "I need a great idea", remember—you don’t. You just need one to get started. The rest will come as you go.