The Five Excuses: Overcoming Barriers and Acting Upon Your Best Ideas.

The Five Excuses:

Overcoming barriers and

Matthew Homann

acting upon your best ideas.

ⓒ 2014 Matthew Homann All Rights Reserved

My name is Matt Homann

and I suffer from

Twitter: @matthomann

Idea Surplus Disorder.


These are the slides from my

talk at the Creativity World

11 November 2014

Forum in Kortrijk, Belgium.


My problem wasn’t having

great ideas. It was having to

do something with them.



and the lessons I’ve learned

Here are my five excuses,

as I’ve overcome them.

PriorityMy First Excuse

The world is filled with great

ideas craving the attention

of their distracted owners.


If you’re not compelled to act

upon your idea, it was never

really yours to begin with.


NoveltyMy Second Excuse

“In every work of genius

we recognize our own

rejected thoughts.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


Most who’ve had your great

idea before have done as

little with it as you.


Problems are rarely more

“obvious” than at the precise

moment someone solves them.


The most “obvious” problems

are best at hiding from those

who fail to look for them.


ValidityMy Third Excuse

Your peers don’t challenge

your best ideas because

they fear you’ll fail.


They challenge your ideas

because they’re afraid you’ll

change faster than they can.


Truly great ideas are selfish

companions. They won’t rest

until you change yourself

to serve their needs.


SecurityMy Fourth Excuse

Others aren’t interested in

stealing your ideas. They’re far

too busy ignoring their own.


Your reluctance to share says

more about you than it does

about the quality of your idea.


in the company of others.

when they spend time

The best ideas flourish


CommunityMy Fifth Excuse


Though it feels safer to fail

alone than to fail with others,

it is far easier to succeed with

others than to succeed alone.


The single most important

skill to possess is the ability

to place your trust in others.

The biggest barriers to your

idea are rarely erected by

anyone other than you.



others giving the exact same

same excuses as you.

The world is filled with


challenges can be overcome

with the support of others...

The moment you realize your


incredible things you will

be able to accomplish!

There is no limit to the

Thank you!


My name is Matt Homann

and I own Kendeo and co-

Kendeo.com / InvisibleGirlfriend.com

founded Invisible Girlfriend.


Here’s how you can reach me:

[email protected]

@matthomann


LinkedIn.com/in/Homann

Leadership & Management