When to know if an idea is bad?

Ideas are a commodity; they come and go. Every day, we can think of and generate tens or hundreds of ideas just by observing and being aware of what is happening around us. The truth is that most of those ideas will expire and never be thought of again. In the best scenario, the ideas that make it onto paper will be "bad."

But what does "bad" mean? In my opinion, it simply means undeveloped. Ideas have the potential to become products, and products can become companies. More importantly, ideas can be a source of inspiration. Inspiration can kick off a series of events that lead to creating great companies or, at the very least, life-changing experiences. Inspiration is perishable, and so are ideas. In that sense, it's much better to have many undeveloped ideas that continuously inspire us than it is to have no ideas at all.

How do we know if we are generating good ideas? Ideas are always subject to constraints, the unconscious limits resulting from our environment, needs, and, most importantly, goals.

Therefore, the best way to generate ideas is by having a sense of what we want to achieve in life. Knowing our Personal Mission, Core Values, and the Milestones we wish to reach is more important than generating good ideas. Once we have a strong motivation for documenting ideas, they will flow into our minds and take shape into something that might make sense to our future selves.