I’m an idea person. I LOVE ideas. I have a Trello board with 52 half-baked scraps of genius, bullet-pointed and outlined down to the detail.

My StrengthsFinder profile is all Ideation and Future-thinking, with a little Learning and anal-retentive Structure thrown in for good measure.

All that really means is that I’m great at coming up with ideas, and less naturally inclined to take actually take action on them.

When there are so many options and possibilities and potential directions to take, finding clarity is HARD. Figuring out which ideas are the BEST and how to get started seems impossible. You feel paralyzed.

I’ve been there. I get it.

After bringing a number of ideas to life—from Tether to the Creative City podcast to this very site—I’ve boiled it down to a process that combines all the things I’ve learned into one tidy package.

My PowerUp Process incorporates design thinking, mind-mapping, sprints, and good old fashioned personal experience, and I’m so excited to share it.

Here’s the thing: Everyone has ideas.

A few people have good ideas. Even fewer make those ideas happen.

Think about how many times you’ve seen something pitched on Shark Tank or raising funds on Kickstarter and thought “I came up with that idea YEARS ago!”

“You can’t scale an idea that’s only in your head. You have to ACT on it.”

~ Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of LinkedIn

Those people on TV aren’t smarter than you or I or anyone else. The difference is that they got clear and took action. The biggest point here is that YOU CAN TOO.

Here’s how:

01.  Get clear on your Vision, starting with your Who.

02.  Your Big Idea is actually a collection of smaller thoughts and ideas. Write down those smaller thoughts and ideas—no rhyme or reason, just let ’em flow. Post-It notes and Sharpies are your friends here.

03.  Separate out the ideas that directly relate to your big vision. Group similar or related ideas together. Notice any patterns?

04.  Rate those ideas based on your excitement for each one and how easily they could be accomplished with what you have right NOW.

Pro tip: Use the “no mediocrity” scale (1,2,3,8,9,10) so you don’t wind up with a bunch of 7s. Take time to consider why you gave each idea that rating. Be brutally honest with yourself and trust your gut.

05.  Take the idea with the top score and break it down into steps (research, planning, etc. as outlined here). Dedicate time to focus on accomplishing those steps.

Pro tip: Set aside twice as much time as you think it will take.

06.  Now you have a plan! While you’re still excited, take 10 minutes to take ACTION on one of the steps: send an email, sketch a design, write an outline—something simple and easy to keep the momentum going. Here are 6 ways to get started if you need some inspiration.

If you need one-on-one guidance through the PowerUp process or someone to bounce ideas around with you, I LIVE for this stuff. Schedule a one-on-one PowerUp Session with me and we’ll make your idea happen together!