Tara Kachaturoff, posting at AndyWibbels.com reminded me that one man’s stupid business idea is another’s gateway to that two story colonial on Easy Street in her post on Creative Business Ideas. In it she references a NicheGeek.com blog post on 10 Totally Stupid Online Business Ideas That Made Someone Rich. It reminded me of an idea for running tights that I conceived for a college marketing class years before running tights started showing up in the stores. But my marketing professor panned the idea so I never pursued it only to be bemused and frustrated because, not only did someone else introduce them and make – no doubt – a fortune but I got a stinkin’ C- on my report. (Fred Smith’s idea for FedEx was also panned by his professor; good for him that he didn’t pay attention.)

Point is take a look at the NicheGeeks list and then think about those crazy ideas you’ve had in the middle of the night or when frustrated by one of life’s little stumbling blocks (anyone po’ed like me by top sheets that are always un-tucking themselves – how about ‘Top Pocket® sheets?’; top sheets with a mattress shaped pocket attached to one end … “Never retuck a top sheet again!” Silly idea? Maybe. My wife thinks so anyway but is her opinion standing in the way of my millions?!

Because often that’s the difference between daily drudgery and financial freedom. We don’t have the guts or gumption to pursue our dreams, our crazy ideas, our ‘Spose® – Sport Hose for Athletes’. We let the lack of imagination of friends, colleagues or relatives dampen our own enthusiasm.

So what to do. For starters, reconsider your list of crazy ideas. Or start one to hold all the ideas and opportunities that occur to you. Write ‘em down. Come back to them in a few days or a few weeks, if an idea still resonates then consider what it will take to take them to the next level. And … take … those … steps! What do you have to lose except your negative net worth?