Seth Godin - Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them

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Welcome to The Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I’m your host, Andrew McGivern, and today is September 10th. Today we’re celebrating Swap Ideas Day.

It’s a reminder that ideas grow best when shared. It’s like a creative potluck—everyone brings something unique to the table, and by the end of it, everyone eats a lot more types of food than they came with.

That brings us to today’s quote, which speaks to the power of ideas and collaboration. It’s from Seth Godin, a master of innovation and marketing, and it goes a little something like this:

"Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them."

Let’s dive in and see how this connects to swapping ideas and the alchemy that happens when we’re not afraid to share, even the bad ones. Seth Godin’s quote perfectly captures the messy, unpredictable process of coming up with something brilliant. It starts with a simple truth: not all ideas are good ideas. In fact, most of the time, your first few ideas might be pretty rough.

But here’s the catch: without those bad ideas, you never get to the good ones. It’s like sculpting. You start with a big, unshapely block of stone. The first few chips don’t look like much. But with each strike, the vision becomes clearer. And here’s the real magic: when you share that rough, unpolished idea with someone else, they might see something in it that you missed. They chip away at it in a way you never thought of.

That’s what Swap Ideas Day is all about. Sharing even those half-baked, bad ideas because sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to get to the great one. Have you ever been in a brainstorming session where someone throws out an idea that makes everyone wince a little? Maybe it’s off the mark, or maybe it’s just plain strange.

But then someone else picks up on a small part of it and says, “Wait a minute, what if we tweak it like this?” And before you know it, that terrible idea evolves into something brilliant. This is why we swap ideas. Not because every idea is perfect, but because it’s the exchange that creates something new.

And sometimes, the bad ideas are the essential stepping stones to the good ones.

So, on Swap Ideas Day, don’t hold back. Don’t worry about whether your ideas are fully formed, polished, or even good. Share them anyway. You never know who’s going to hear something in your messy, half-formed thought and turn it into a breakthrough.

And when someone else shares an idea that seems a little rough around the edges, listen closely. There’s gold hidden in the rough. Remember what Seth Godin said: "Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them."

So keep sharing. Keep swapping. And don’t be afraid to get a little messy in the process. Thanks for joining me here on The Daily Quote. I hope today inspires you to swap some ideas, embrace the imperfect ones, and see where they take you.

I'm Andrew the McGivern and I’ll be back tomorrow with another Daily Quote.