Like Blowing Bubbles: How to Turn an Idea into an Inspiration

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Rachelle Smalldon, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

Have you ever watched a child blowing bubbles from a wand? She dips the wand in the soap, lifts it up to her mouth, and with a simple breath of air watches the bubble emerge from the wand. The liquid soap forms into a translucent ball of magic, and floats effortlessly into the open air. Free from any constraints, the bubble sails off into the sky and the girl’s eyes glisten as she watches the magic happen. She waits with wonder and anticipation to see where the bubble will go. Sometimes it floats up and up until she can no longer see it with her naked eye. Sometimes the bubble quickly submits to its fate, and as quickly as it formed, it pops.

Sometimes my ideas are like that. They float around in my head, and I find excitement in their potential. However, some pop just as quickly as they are formed. Some float for awhile, but then, they too, fizzle into merely a passing thought. But some ideas, the ones I put the most air into, float out of my mind into something visible in the world. They become real. But sometimes, to me they are beautiful, inspired creations. To others, they’re bubbles of soap.

It can be really easy to want to just blow spontaneous spurts of air into the wand. To carelessly throw out ideas like they have no impact can be tempting. But our ideas have power. Getting clear on what you freely share with the world, what you will let go of, and what you will keep to yourself until it is more developed, matters. Regardless of how much attention and care we put into them, once ideas pass through the wand and are shared with someone else, they become real. They become something that enters the conscience of someone else. They notice it and it impacts them. It changes them. Once your idea (no matter how fleeting it may be) goes outside your head, it makes a difference.

To create the perfect bubble, one that sails off into the air, takes patience. It takes a number of failed tries. It takes concentration. It takes focus. With care, passion, and intentional time put in, we begin to find success. We try again, and because of our past success, we know how to find it again. We develop a pattern of sharing inspiring, life-changing ideas. Time after time we begin curating translucent magic and setting it free into the atmosphere to be enjoyed by everyone.

Coaching is a practice that helps clients focus. We help people develop their plans and pattern for success. Coaches guide clients, helping them put intention and focus to what they put out into the world. We help people sort through which bubbles will sail and which they should maybe let pop. We help them get clear on what they want to achieve, and then we help them do it.

So maybe you’ve been blowing a lot of bubbles haphazardly into the wind. Maybe you’re like me, and have tons of bubbles floating around in your head, but need some clarity. Get clear on your plan for successful innovation by first taking a few points about creating a perfect bubble into consideration:

1. As much as we may like to think all our ideas are extremely original, someone has probably created a pretty good bubble before. Maybe not exactly like the one you’re envisioning, but there is likely a successful pattern that you could follow. Consult your resources. Have you done your research? What can you learn from those who travelled that path before you? Who are the people you go to for advice? What do they have to say? Take a dose of humility in being willing to take advice and learn from the experiences of others. But don’t let what you receive stop you. Let it empower you. How will your idea be unique?

2. Accept the fact that at first you’re going to need to blow some popped bubbles. Your first one will not be your best and you’re going to have to get some practice. But consider the idea that “most people have attained their greatest success just beyond their greatest failure” [Napoleon Hill]. Test out the waters. Try a few things and use a few close, trusted individuals as your sounding board. When you say it out loud, does it still sound as good as it does in your head? If not, go back and try again until it does. If you don’t have the perseverance and commitment to keep working and spend time figuring some things out, you will spend a lot more time blowing spurts of soap. And all it will ever be is soap.

3. Set some parameters for success. What will the perfect bubble look like? How will you know you’ve got it? What will be your plan of action when you do? How will you present it and how will you use it to make a difference? And, once you’ve done it, what’s the next step? Setting some posts along your path to success will allow you to celebrate tiny victories and give you a spot to pause, reflect, and determine the best way to go from there before wasting all your energy.

When I have an idea I believe has potential, I take care in how I let the idea emerge from my mind. I put thought and intention into it. I share it with people preciously, letting a few trusted friends and mentors hear it to see if they also believe in its potential, or if maybe I should consider letting it pop. I’ve learned that the term “sleep on it” has incredible significance. Eventually, if I still feel good about it, the idea emerges into the open and I feel accomplished. I have taken an idea from creation to fruition, from breath to beauty. Something inspired from my thoughts now has the potential to inspire others. I have achieved making a positive difference, if absolutely nothing else, in the eyes of the girl who watches it floating through the air. And then, I do it again.

[Originally posted on www.steerempowerment.com]

Rachelle Smalldon is the Founder of Steer Empowerment Consulting. Specializing in life and leadership coaching with emerging leaders and non-profit organizations, Rachelle works to help her clients “finally know that you control where you go – you can steer.” [Higgins]
Learn more about Rachelle’s experience at www.steerempowerment.com