Boy, do I know that feeling. Inspiration strikes, and you dream up an idea for a book, or product, or some piece of art you can make. (I love it when a plan comes together.) And then, once we have the idea worked through in our heads, what do we do next? As the Fonz said: we sit on it.

The reason is simple: we don't want to mess it up. We have no business starting to write our perfect book until we've mastered the art of writing. Otherwise, the merits of the idea will be blurred by the imperfect use of a perfect medium.

This is the ultimate excuse for procrastinating, and I know because I've used it dozens of times. I know, because in the last ten years, I've sat on top of several "masterpieces". Each of them was a "perfect" idea that had to be executed perfectly or else it'd be ruined.

Here's the truth: we really like ideas when they're shiny and new, but after a certain point, they psychologically depreciate in our minds. Gradually, we care about each idea less and less as it ages, and we spawn new ideas to distract ourselves with. Out with the old...

What that means is that you have two choices: you can do nothing, and sit on your idea, all the while stressing about the plethora of reasons you can't do it. Or you can act on your idea, create something new, and realize your vision. In either case, your interest in the idea, your passion for making it happen, is almost certainly going to fade over time.

But if you act on your idea, at least you'll have something to show for it.