How prototyping can help us stay motivated

Let’s talk about one of the most important things in Business Design: Motivation. Motivated and engaged teams are probably the most important success factor in Business Design. If you don’t have have a very motivated team, you will fail. No matter how good your idea is. Guaranteed. We need that inner fire and motivation to overcome all the obstacles we will face when we want to bring an idea to market. If we don’t have that, we give up too early.

We all know that feeling when we loose momentum and motivation working on a new idea. At the beginning, we are often very motivated and dream about changing the world. We are hyped working on that new thing. But bringing an idea to market is an emotional rollercoaster. We will have emotional and motivational lows. For example, we discovered a competitor who works on the same thing than we do. Or we learn that things don’t work as expected (often when we start validating our assumptions).

That we loose motivation at times is completely normal. We are humans with feelings and emotions, not robots. It’s part of the journey. But it’s important to overcome that.

There is something you can do in these situations. I recently read this tweet from Adam Wathan on twitter:

Motivation is a byproduct of action, not the catalyst for it. When I just can’t bring myself to start, that’s when it’s most important to just do it — it always completely fixes how I’m feeling. (source)

I love that observation because I see this with myself and with others. Even while I’m writing this little text here. Just doing things, working on your idea in a tangible way can change how you feel. It can give you hope and belief. You see and feel that it can be done. Right in front of your eyes. All of that can fix your motivation.

And you know what? That’s what prototyping is all about. You don’t think, you do. You act, decide and work on your idea in the most tangible way. This can lift you off when you are in a bad spot emotionally. It will spark motivation and belief. I see that, everyday. In me and in others.

Start prototyping. NOW!