In the previous post I mentioned that most writers and other creative people think too small and that often it doesn't take any greater effort to realize a big (meaning innovative, different, potentially more profitable) project than it does to achieve a small one. So why don't we do it more often?
One of the main reasons is fear. Fear that it won't succeed, fear that people will laugh at us or think less of us, and fear that it's not actually a good idea at all--that we are deluding ourselves.
There is one easy way to overcome the latter: find one genuine ally who also believes in what you are doing.
THE ROOM FULL OF LIARS
Maybe you're familiar with the experiment in which a room full of people were asked which line on a chalkboard was longer, A or B. Actually they weren't even close--A was clearly longer. However, there was only one real test subject in the room. The others were all in on the experiment and had been instructed to say B was longer. They all went first and by the the time the unknowing subjects had a turn, they would say B as well. They believed the group assessment more than they believed their eyes. I'm guessing they also felt that if they said A the entire room would laugh at them.
However, as soon as just one other person in the group said that A was longer, so did most of the test subjects.
What this suggests to me is that with just one ally who sees things the same way we do, we are more confident in what we are doing.
Let me stress, though, the word "genuine". It has to be somebody whose judgement you rate (not just your mother) and who is being honest with you.
THE CASE OF THE AWFUL MASKS
Once a group I was in was asked by one of the members of the group whether we thought the masks that she was making would appeal to the public and be something that would sell. I didn't think so but everybody else was so fulsome in their praise and enthusiastic about the commercial prospects of her masks that I expressed only the mildest of reservations. As soon as she left, most of the others revealed their true thoughts--which were that it would be a tough sell. I guess they thought they were doing her a favor by not hurting her feelings, but in fact they were doing her a disservice (as did I, by muting my concerns that much).
You and your ally may or may not be right about the value of your enterprise but you have to be able to trust that they're telling you what they really think. If you found out at some point that they were faking it that would undermine your confidence.
THE KEY POINT
Ultimately, of course, the larger marketplace will decide the commercial value of what you produce, but to get to the point where you can offer it to that marketplace having at least one ally is invaluable.
(Making the best use of your time also is essential--get loads of tips on exactly how to do that, from my book, "Focus: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done.)
