Whatcha got for me?

[If you are reading on a smartphone, use landscape / hold phone sideways.]

Where do good ideas come from? 

Chapter One: The Post

One of my favorite people who I never met "in real life" pinged me on LinkedIn yesterday with an idea.  Here is the cut/paste from my LinkedIn feed:

Tom, here is the idea and I have "no idea" how to pull it off:  The Great Feed

You have a feed. I have a feed. Thousands of others have feeds here on LinkedIn and on various social media. What if we all got together to use our feeds to feed the millions who are without food here in the USA right now? Maybe it works like this: we create a post and if you like and share it, every action turns into money. For every 1000 posts, we donate $1000 to FeedMore or such an organization. But we need help, we would need an angel donor (or donors). I don't have the money, but I do have the energy and you have the network as do many others here. We could do it until the holiday ends. Let's discuss and I'd love to hear other ideas. Happy Saturday, Tom. 

Chapter Two: The Bolt of Lightning 

For me, ideas are like bolts of lightning. Sudden illumination. The destruction of ignorance. Jung sees lightning as liberating the soul. 

Within minutes (literally... minutes) of my friend's post in Messenger, I bought www.TheGreatFeed.com So, now it's real. I spent $10 so this is no longer just an idea - it is REAL. The way it went down: read the post, say wow, buy domain name. Never let a good thunderbolt go to waste.

Chapter Three: What would Johann Wolfgang von Goethe do?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 - March 22, 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist and scientist. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of his age. In 1765, Goethe left home to study law, as his father wished, but due to his illness (probably tuberculosis) he returned home without a degree. However, while at university, Goethe was much more absorbed with writing, but he burned some of his works as he considered them unworthy. 

Often regarded as Germany's Shakespeare, he was also a "quote factory" of sorts. Here are just a few quotes that will change the way you see yourself and others. If you Google Goethe Quotes your computer will blow up:

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. * Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. * A person hears only what they understand. * Courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success. * As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. * To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking. * Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. * Everything is hard before it is easy.

And my favorite: "Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it."

Buying the domain name www.TheGreatFeed.com makes it real. Spending $10 makes it real. Putting a post on social media, writing this blog, action makes the idea REAL. 

And so: TheGreatFeed.com was born on 11/28/2020. I forced the birth of my friend's idea. I have "no idea" if this shall be final domain name, or how many iterations or versions of THE IDEA will push forward over the next several days. I told my web team this morning to get the "coming soon" page up, ASAP. It is 7:44 AM EST on 11/29/20 and they will all see this blog. Ahem. 

Epilogue: The Highest Cannot Be Spoken; It Can Only Be Acted

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do. Today, right now, there are people who do not have enough food for their family. There are people right here in the USA who are going to go hungry. Today. Right now, there is Hunger in America. Enough. 

Enough!

I never met my LinkedIn friend "In Real Life" but something tells me we shall indeed meet. And something tells me that I'll meet many people in his network. I think this is a good place for one of MY quotes, to end today's blog:

Show me your friends, and I'll show you who you are.