Over the years I’ve had many ideas that I thought were exceptional. When our kids were young and every kid’s birthday party had to be more elaborate than the last, I thought it would be great to buy an old house with a huge backyard and create a party place.
I even went as far as coming up with themes for each room. I found them in a folder recently while I was procrastinating working on my book cleaning out my desk.
In the days of the VCR, before smart phones and YouTube, I attended a job fair where there was a booth for people who wanted to have their resume reviewed by a resume writing service. Of course the line was long, and as I stood there waiting I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was such a thing as a video resume? What a great way for recruiters to save time looking for candidates with just the right skill set and then spending more time bringing them in for an interview. It could also be helpful to job seekers looking for a way to stand out from other candidates.
For one reason or another, I didn’t pursue either of those ideas. Not because they weren’t good ideas, but because the timing wasn’t right. It’s just as well; there were other places to be, other goals to pursue, other opportunities to excel in store for me.
Yesterday I took some photos of my friend’s garden. Spring is popping out all around us.
After I walked around checking out the garden, we all went out to celebrate the Chinese New Year. 2013 is the year of the snake. My husband, my son and my friend were each born in a year of the snake. So, we had plenty to celebrate. This was my fortune.
I can hardly wait until Friday. Of course, it didn’t say which Friday.
Ever had an exceptional idea you didn’t pursue?
Honie Briggs 
Oh the ideas that go through my head. I remember thinking that a flashlight on cell phones would be so helpful. A year later my brother showed me the flashlight on his phone. In High school I was going to create a skateboarding magazine for girls and in college a traveling arts and crafts mobile for kids. All of these and more have been created by someone else. I don’t feel bad about not following through. I am glad to know that the majority of my ideas turn out to be viable. So I must be a genius right?
I suppose like Wyrd Smthe, you too thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread. You guys, seriously!
I was thinking more along the lines of ‘pockets on shirts’.
funny 😉
I often wonder about projects I didn’t pursue. And then I remember I have enough on my plate and don’t worry about them anymore. 🙂
You are a wise woman Carrie Rubin.
I had this great idea for baked bread. You see, you get a sharp knife and use that to “cut” the bread into thin pieces (I call them “slices”). You can then use those “slices” for a variety of purposes. You could sun dry them and use them as shingles, for example.
I’m pretty sure this idea is the one that everyone will be using as the yardstick of good ideas for a long time to come!
No, I think that idea is toast.
Mmmmmm…. tooooast!!
I have had a few – one was a reverse aerosol can that would come empty and you could use it to suck up stuff you don’t want and then throw the can away when it’s full – specifically I wanted to suck up spiders and the like – The Bug Sucker. Of course why bother with this when you have a perfectly fine hand vac. The next was an idea about a mirror in the shower – the water would run through the mirror so it would be the same temp and not fog up – I waited to late and now you can buy it on front gate. My favorite was for convertible Levis. When I was in high school all the popular kids were buying 501s and splitting the side seams, revealing their o-so-stylish tube socks. Some people split theirs to the knee, some just over the ankle so they belled over their Nike court shoes. I could not make up my mind so I installed jacket zippers in my Levis so I could have the split however long I felt like that day. I got a million of them. Maybe I shouldn’t quit my day job. Love the Party House BTW!
LOL! Lorri you had me at Bug Sucker! Convertible Levis is pretty good too. Yeah, I think a day job is a safer bet for both of us! HA!
So I guess I’m not going to retire on any of these….drat.
The bug sucker is actually a real thing. Entomologists use them to capture specimens in the field. They aren’t aerosol though and the technical name is a pooter. I volunteered at an outdoor classroom for elementary school kids for three years and we made them with the students at one of the science stations.
Fun, but not a retirement plan.
I guess sucking insects into a decompressed aerosol can would make them pretty unusable for research. I actually saw a Bug Vac on a recent flight in Frontgate – darn you Frontgate! How did you make poots – were they mechanical?
No, they were very elementary. First through third grade style. Plastic bottles, cotton and a straw, but they worked.
Very cool – if you want to collect bugs.
ohhhhhh, i loved this post. so many. so many ideas that i didn’t pursue. but, for me it was/ is usually more about not having the right resources to get stuff off the ground. i have a friend who always says to that, ‘don’t focus on what you don’t have, but focus on what you have…’ sage advice. lovely post. xoxox
That is exceptional advice. xo2u2