Seven weeks have passed since I quit my job to pursue my own business.  In those seven weeks I’ve started a few prototypes, consulted for a friend, and done a lot of thinking.  I’ve never been short of ideas.  Yet I’ve been short of an idea that I can devote myself to.

Many of my ideas have been subject to criticism from friends, family, and mentors.  I’ve found myself preparing for a meeting with a trusted friend by working on my pitch.  Yet a pitch is only useful when one needs to convince someone else to satisfy an outcome.  Entrepreneurs pitch investors with the intention of getting investment; investors need to be convinced that an idea is big, lucrative, and awesome.  Similarly, possible recruits are pitched to be sold on an idea that they’ll be spending most of their waking hours pursuing.  Again, pitching is convincing.

In meetings with friends, family, and mentors, I’ve found myself pitching my ideas.  I’ve never realized my intentions until recently.  I suppose I’m hoping to hear from people I trust that a certain idea is good, worth pursuing.  I’m eager to understand that I’m not crazy for having a certain idea.

I’ve been going about ideas all wrong.  Getting feedback from trusted people in one’s life is never bad.  But it’s a distraction from the ultimate goal of finding an idea that I believe in.  Friends, family,and mentors shouldn’t be pitched; they should be questioned.  They should help shape and tune an idea.  Their criticism only matters as far as it helps one better understand the edge cases of an idea.  The ultimate vision is yours and yours alone.

All that matters for me is that the idea I eventually devote myself to is something I believe in.  The rest is the pitch.