Yesterday we discussed starting an idea journal and writing down every single idea we could think of related to our Web site, no matter how outrageous that idea might be.

I asked you to give yourself permission to dream, that it’s important not to set any parameters on your idea generation. Any idea you thought of, you were told to write it down. The more outrageous, the better. I hope you did the exercise, and I hope you had fun.

It’s important to think big, because if you think too small, those will be your “dreams.”

So many times in my business, we’ve dreamed big . . . really big. Those ideas would have seemed outrageous to most people. But we went after them and didn’t give up. In most cases, we saw those ideas become a reality. In other cases, with a twist or two, we made them a reality. In still other cases, we had to wait a while to make them a reality, or we had to bring in other people, or whatever the case might be. But we didn’t give up.

Not all ideas are good–don’t get me wrong. I’m not taking a Pollyanna approach to life. Think everything through carefully, especially if it requires large expenditures.

Also, don’t think you have to do everything at once. You don’t! Take your time. Implement one idea here, and the next idea there. Do it as you can. Just move forward and don’t quit. TAKE ACTION.

Now you have your list of ideas. Your assignment today is to categorize your list.

Study your list carefully. What are the things on your list that you can do now? Put a red number 1 in a circle beside each of those ideas. Remember that I don’t mean for you to do those things today! I just mean that these ideas are doable at the present time.

Now, go through the list again. Consider these items closely. Could you add a twist to any of them to make them doable? In other words, could the more outrageous ones be toned down a little to where you could afford them now? If you wanted to put a full-page ad in the New York Times, could you put a classified ad in some of the big newspapers instead? Or, put a free classified ad in Craig’s List or Google Base?

After reviewing the list again, could you make any of these a red number 1?

If not, go back and put a blue number 2 in a circle beside those that might be doable within the next year. It may take some creativity on your part to make them doable, but that’s what this blog is all about.

Go through the list a third time. Would these items fit into a five-year plan? Or, are they so outrageous that you can’t decide where to put them? In that case, it will just require some creativity and twists to place them into a category. You may want to buy a blimp and advertise across the country. You may have to settle for advertising with an airplane over an important football game, or whatever.

For any ideas that would fit into a five-year plan, put a green number 3 in a circle beside them.

Don’t cross off any ideas. Leave them on your list. You may have some ideas that aren’t categorized, and that’s okay.

Rewrite your list so you can easily see the number 1s in order, followed on the next page with number 2s, and so forth. You may even want to leave a blank page between the different numbers so you can add more ideas.

Study your number 1s. Which one do you want to implement first? Go for it! What’s taking you so long?  

If you want to tell me about your ideas, please do. I’m here to listen.

Remember: if you don’t implement your ideas, no one else will! It’s up to YOU to get your Web site headed in the right direction. Begin putting those ideas into action NOW!

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about what makes YOU different than everyone else in your industry by looking at those lists.

Robin