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Why Someone Stealing Your Idea Isn’t A Big Deal.
An idea is just an idea until you act on it.
A common fear in business is someone stealing your idea and becoming successful from it. While this is a reasonable fear, it’s a scenario that happens in one’s own head more often than it does in reality. You may see someone working on the same idea you had and it makes you feel uncertain. If so, it shouldn’t deter you from building on that idea. Great minds think alike, but greater minds become the best.
If I had a dime for every NDA I’ve signed over the years I would have enough money to afford a top tier lawyer. It’s not the idea that produces fruit — it’s the execution. Ideas are easy; it’s the work behind them that presents a challenge. I can think about how nice it would be to have an orange tree in my backyard, but until I put the seed into the ground and care for it I won’t have any oranges to harvest.
To those who know me, I am the go-to person for business advice. People will tell me their idea and I’d give feedback on what they should do. My favorite question to ask people is this:
“If I were to steal your idea, how would you feel and what would you do about it?”
