We all have ideas. We can’t follow up on every one of them.
In my case, I had an awesome idea for a screenplay 10 years ago. After writing a few pages, I held auditions for the female lead. One of the actresses who read for me used to play a primary character on a serial drama in the 80’s and 90’s, and was also the lead in one of a series of well-known horror films. I was jazzed about the prospects of my dream!
But then life kicked back in and my devotion to writing ceased.
About a year later I saw that there was a series on cable whose character sounded just like the description of my leading lady. Same accent, same line of work, similar physical description. I was flattened as my ambitions deflated. It seemed that somebody else had beaten me to the punch.
This little article does a great job of illustrating how important it is to embrace ideas and follow up on the ones you have a passion for. That is not to say that every idea that crosses your mind is viable or is a good one. Rather, we should know ourselves well enough to be able to decide which ones to hang on to and which ones to let go.
Read the article on Linked In:
“Why Ideas Are Worthless To Those Who Fail To Act”
My life is still very busy, but my dream has not died. I am still working on my screenplay, albeit sporadically.
– Stephen Dunham
