From Idea to Innovation: Bringing Purpose into Reality

Once you become clear about your purpose or calling, how do you move forward? Usually fulfilling a life purpose involves taking it from an idea or concept to something that involves other people’s lives and their participation. Innovation, which I call one of The 7 Dimensions of Wisdom, requires more than creativity. Whatever the field of endeavor, whether the idea is making a better machine, or a new paradigm in art, religion, business or world peace, it becomes real by being communicated, marketed and sold. There may or may not be money involved in the transaction, but other people must buy the idea, and accept it as useful and meaningful in their lives.

Even developing the idea into a workable prototype requires collaboration from other people, who must be convinced to invest their time, energy, and perhaps money into it. This point is obvious in regards to products and services that are sold by businesses, but may not be as readily understood for artistic, scientific, religious, philosophical concepts. Your idea or passion may also be to do something that is not new; but what is new is that you will do it with your particular style and personality.

Some people get excited and engaged by the process of generating ideas, but soon lose interest, and the idea never comes to life. Let’s face it. It can be threatening to commit to an idea and to get other people involved in it. What if it doesn’t work? And at the very least it requires accepting criticism, and changing and adapting your idea to make it useful to other people. Also, selling anything, an idea or a product or service, is emotionally challenging. To be successful at it, you have to not only get used to rejection, but to actually learn from it.

There is also the natural reluctance on the part of many creative people to the perceived crassness and grubbiness of selling. It is so much easier to just go on to the next exciting idea. Perhaps that’s the difference between a vision and a dream. A vision is a prelude to action, whereas a dream is just something that happened last night while you were sleeping. Proverbs states that without a vision, the people will perish. In the original spiritual sense, a vision was divine guidance that a prophet received in order to lead the people away from impending disaster, or towards victory and paradise.

We cannot predict the ultimate impact that any one of us will have by pursuing our purpose. It may seem like a small personal activity that is only connected to a limited number of people. But the butterfly effect works in the social world as well as in the physical one. You may recall that the butterfly effect states that a butterfly flapping its wings can set off a physical chain reaction that ultimately impacts on the weather on the other side of the globe.

In any event, regardless of the impact on others, you can only find fulfillment by pursuing your purpose. Therefore, return to another of The 7 Dimensions of Wisdom, the skills of self-awareness and self-management. There you must confront your fears and find the courage to pursue your purpose, from concept or idea to innovation and the creation of social value.