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Tony Fadell: I Try to Run Away From a Great Idea. Then It Stalks Me.

By Tony Fadell · Startup Growth · 1 min read

I try to run away from a great idea and then it stalks me. It hunts you down. You put it aside and a few days later — oh, I think I know how to solve that problem. At some point it becomes like a black hole that just sucks you in. You can't think about anything else.

Key Points

The best ideas are ones that chase you — you try to run away and they stalk you
It becomes a black hole — you can't think about anything else, like finding your partner
Running away from an idea is more effective than diving in — it makes you think harder about the story

I try to run away from a great idea and then it stalks me. It hunts you down. At some point it becomes like a black hole that just sucks you in.

Great Ideas Chase You

Fadell: You have a great idea — and great ideas chase you. In this world there are so many people who have more ideas than they have time to implement. I used to be like that — oh my God, I have this idea, this idea. You try to do all of them.

But the best ideas are the ones that you can really focus on. You shut out all the other things and bring those other ideas into the thing you're trying to do.

Great ideas chase you. The best ones are the ones you can really focus on.

It Hunts You Down

Fadell: I try to run away from a great idea and then it stalks me. It hunts you down. You're like — ah, that's going to have this problem, I'm going to put it aside. Then a few days later — oh, I think I know how to solve that problem. Or I talk to somebody. You're always kind of niggling around the edges of it.

At some point it becomes like a black hole that just sucks you in. You can't think about anything else but this. It's almost like a relationship — when you find your partner. Something clicks and then all of a sudden it just comes together.

You put it aside. Days later — I think I know how to solve that. It becomes a black hole. You can't think about anything else.

Run Away From It

Fadell: I used to just dive right in. But I learned that it's more effective to run away from it. Run away from it and let it chase you. Because it makes you think harder about the story.

I learned it's more effective to run away from it. It makes you think harder about the story.