A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to get back into drawing. To help motivate myself, I bought some fancy POSCA markers.

POSCA markers are super cool. They come in all sorts of interesting colors, and since they’re paint markers, the color is opaque. That means you can do really cool stuff with them that ordinary watercolor markers can’t do.

POSCA markers are also expensive. In fact, if you Google “POSCA markers”, one of the suggested search results is “Why are POSCA markers so expensive?”

Because of this, POSCA markers feel professional. They’re the kind of thing you might not know about if you’re just casually into art. My professional illustrator friends all use POSCA markers. My creative heroes use POSCA markers.

POSCA markers are for pros.

So when I got mine, I waited to use them.

I didn’t feel ready yet. My drawing skills were still pretty lackluster. When I got better, I told myself I didn’t have the right type of paper. When I got the right type of paper, I decided I needed to wait for the perfect idea before I broke out the fancy, professional art supplies.

Weeks went by.
Then months.
Then years.

A few weeks ago I realized this was a stupid approach, and I decided to just start using the markers. But when I tried to draw my first line, it didn’t work.

The markers had dried up.

I know I’m not the only one who does this. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to an estate sale and seen shiny piles of brand-new art supplies, still in their packaging, ready and waiting for the perfect idea that never came.

What a waste.

People do the same thing with ideas, too. They have an amazing, creative, brilliant idea - the POSCA marker of ideas, even! But they decide they aren’t ready to bring it to life just yet.

They tell themselves that when things slow down at work, or when the kids graduate, or when they retire, then they’ll finally give the idea the attention it deserves.

But so often, when that time finally comes (if it ever comes at all), they pull the cap off their brilliant idea and discover that it’s dried up.
The excitement and energy and potential it once had is just… gone.

Ideas, like markers, have a shelf life. If you don’t use them, they dry up.

But there’s a greater danger, too. When you don't use your markers, they just sit there. But when you don't use your ideas, sometimes you stop having new ideas. It’s like your brain says “Well if you aren’t going to use the ideas I give you, I’m not going to keep giving you new ones.”

Luckily, this isn't a permanent condition. Once you start taking action on your ideas again, the clog clears and you start getting new ideas.
​Better ideas. Ideas that will take you places you'll never reach by sitting around and waiting for the perfect moment to launch them.

This week, I want you to do me two favors:

1. If you’ve got a fancy set of markers sitting on your desk… use them.
2. And if you’ve got a fancy idea sitting in your head… see what steps you can take to bring it to life before it dries up.

Happy Friday, friends. Make it a good one.

Kyle Scheele
Helping Launch Better Ideas, Faster
​www.KyleScheele.com​

P.S. My new book, How Ideas Work, is a practical guide to having great ideas and bringing them to life. It gives you a clear roadmap to follow through the entire creative process, teaches you how to overcome roadblocks, and shows you exactly what it takes to bring your own breakthrough ideas to life. You can preorder a copy here.​