Greatest Thoughts :Great problem requires much thought, especially when the solution seems obvious.”

“Obvious” answers aren’t obvious to most people, partly because most people aren’t thinking about the question.

Image courtesy by https://www.viima.com

 

I spent eight years failing to act on an innovative idea that I knew would work. It was an idea that had not just technological promise but also societal value. It would help people contribute to the most important, impactful charities in the country. But I kept letting it languish.

The biggest reason I held back wasn’t fear, being too busy or lazy, or any of the other natural blockades to entrepreneurship. It was something else.

I didn’t move on this idea because it seemed obvious. It made so much sense to me that I was convinced someone else would do it. So, I assumed it would be a waste of time and energy for me.

Ideas only come to those who recognize a problem and look for innovative solutions. As the book How to Think Like Einstein explains, “Even Einstein couldn’t find a solution if he had the wrong problem. You must have an enabling problem, one that allows imaginative solutions different from your original expectations…Finding that great problem requires much thought, especially when the solution seems obvious.”

Greatest Thoughts from Andrew Forman the co-founder of Givz, an online charitable donation platform.