If you’re an entrepreneur who feels bored or hemmed in by your work, I have an idea for you. 

Stop taking your business so seriously.

It’s not exactly the typical advice you would expect from a business strategist, but hear me out.

Your business began with a flash of inspiration that changed your world. At the time, striking out on your own to bring that idea to life and build your own company seemed wild and risky. Some might even have said it was foolish.

That didn’t stop you from making it happen. 

Through the start-up phase, you were endlessly experimenting with processes and possibilities, throwing spaghetti at the wall without a second thought, just a desire to see what stuck. 

You forged a viable business by leaving no opportunity unexamined.

You started with an unconventional idea and a willingness to see the untapped potential that others could not. You built your business from a flourish of curiosity and creativity.

So what happened?

You succeeded.

Sustainable Success is Serious Business

You are a creative visionary whose passionate pursuit of inspiration made you the successful business owner you are today. 

Somewhere along the way, you stopped flinging spaghetti and started structuring the foundational systems and procedures that now sustain your company. But there are so many of them that you feel stifled like you’ve structured all of the fun and creativity out of your business. 

This is precisely why you need to stop taking it so seriously and start making space for entertaining some seemingly unorthodox ideas.

For starters…

What If Every Idea is a Good Idea?

An idea is just a concept, a creative exploration of “what if,” a hypothetical suggestion. 

As a business strategist, coach, and curious human, I genuinely believe every idea that pops into our heads is a good idea.

Here’s why: If you want to create different results in your business, you need to do something differently. The same old song-and-dance isn’t going to get you there.

Whether you’re troubleshooting solutions for a seemingly intractable issue or creating new strategies to connect with your ideal clients, you must be willing to explore the possibilities in the so-called impossible. You have to discover the doable in what is yet undone. So, when you’re in brainstorming mode, you need to believe that any idea that shows up is an idea worth exploring. And the more out there the idea, the better.

I’m not kidding.

I see seasoned, successful entrepreneurs dismiss their far-fetched ideas without a second thought all the time. If they dare to share something that feels too outside the box, they start poking holes in it before it even gets out of their mouth.

“It would never work, but what if…”

For business owners, this happens more often as you get established and feel more comfortable in your business. As time goes on and your systems and strategies become more entrenched, it’s all too easy to relax into the comfort of routine and stop living on your growing edges – especially when business is good.

In reality, being in this headspace isn’t all that comfortable. It is human nature to seek security and stability, but it is also human nature to seek opportunity, transformation, and expansion. 

Which is why you’re bored.

Start Embracing Your Outlandish Ideas

When you stop exploring what is possible because it feels improbable, you start erasing opportunities to innovate your business and condition your brain to color within the lines.

Your wild, outlandish ideas – even the ones that are truly impossible to execute – are the jumping-off point for the inspiration you can actually take action on. 

They’re the next big thing waiting to happen. The thing that hasn’t been done before. That couldn’t be done until now.

Once upon a time, starting your business felt like a pipedream, too. Then surviving the start-up phase became a milestone in the rearview mirror. That dream client you signed? That was a never going to happen, absolute impossibility. Remember?

So, the next time you find yourself shutting down an idea, give yourself permission to get curious instead.

⇒ What would you need to do to make it work?

⇒ What is the intention at the root of this concept?

⇒ Is there an alternate route to making it happen?

Even if absolutely nothing comes of interrogating your ideas at first, when you practice curiosity outside your comfort zone, you start building up your creative visionary muscles again. 

Make Curiosity a Personal Practice

Every human brain has the potential to provide us with a treasure trove of innovation, but only when we’re willing to step into the sometimes uncomfortable space between reality and possibility can we bring those ideas to life.

When you practice curiosity, you’re nurturing creativity. You probably won’t go from bored to breaking new ground overnight, but the more you entertain the idea of the unexpected, the more capable you are of seeing opportunities where you used to only see obstacles.

When you’re willing to allow any idea to be a good idea, you open the door to ingenious insights that will help you innovate your business and bring more fun and creativity to your systems and routines.

Instead of tuning out, start tuning in when you feel bored with your work. When you notice yourself feeling disinterested, start asking questions.

⇒ What are you supposed to be doing? 

⇒ Why is it unappealing? 

⇒ What might make it feel more meaningful or worthwhile?

As the leader of your business, it’s also important to ask yourself if you’re the only one who can do the work that is leaving you less than engaged. Sometimes you just need to delegate so you can focus on your special sauce, but even if that is the case, I encourage you to spend some time with these questions first. Not only is it a great chance to practice curiosity and pursue creativity, you might even strike upon a solution that makes the task more scintillating (or unnecessary).

How to Capture Inspiration

You can’t do everything all at once, but that doesn’t mean you have to let inspiration pass you by. 

Here are a few other simple tricks to help you reconnect with your creative side:

⇒ Play “What If?” Even if it’s just when you’re getting ready in the morning, set aside fifteen minutes a day to ask questions about your business and entertain answers beyond the systems and expectations you have in place.

⇒ Keep a notebook by your bed and in your workspace so you can quickly jot down any idea that shows up at an inconvenient time.

⇒ Create a folder in the cloud where you can make a note of those bright shiny ideas as they strike and revisit them down the road when you have space to explore them. (Or when you need a creative boost or an outside-the-box solution.) 

⇒ Consider passing your brilliant lightbulb on to someone who can make it happen.

During the height of the pandemic, I had a great idea that I couldn’t bring to life, but I knew someone with the skill to do it. So, I passed the baton, and they ran with it. Even though I wasn’t the one to see the idea through to fruition, it’s incredibly satisfying to know that spark of possibility is now a reality.

When you allow obstacles, impossibilities, and improbabilities to inspire curiosity, you unlock new opportunities in your business and reignite your creativity.

So stop taking your business so seriously.