A guide on how to bring your idea to life, for dummies

A couple of years ago, a friend – who I know will not be very amused when she reads this – told me that she wanted to set up a library in her village. She had nursed this idea for a while but it had just never taken off.

She was sharing it because she needed help thinking through it but also because she needed an accountability partner. These kinds of conversations and requests are something that I have got used to, and often agree to. So, I said yes and we went to work. Talked how to go about the idea, how to get the community involved, reading programmes and schedules, stocking and management, venues and locations, systems, etc.

There is just something about ideas. They are exciting. The process of dreaming and thinking and creating scenarios and imagining what could be brings a certain excitement and optimism to life than very few things ever could.

It certainly isn’t as scary and draining as the reality of actually putting in the work – what many others like to call implementation. It is at this point, when the rubber meets the road, that things usually go awry. I am sad to say that all these years later, the library has still not taken off and there is no telling if it will, ever.

I am sharing this story because this week, someone texted to say that reading about my experience of Okere City had reignited something in them. We continue to tie on Kampala for nothing but the future is rural

Apparently, she had always wanted to do something to help children in her village but had never come around to it because she just didn’t know what.

I dismissed the excuse of not knowing what to do, pointing out that being Ugandan perhaps gave her the greatest advantage – what with all the tribes of problems we face every day! Instead, I reasoned, a more plausible reason would have been not knowing how to go about whatever intervention.

So, I promised that I would write out a somewhat simple guide on how one could go about moving from idea to implementation. That way, it would be easy for her, but for this column’s readers as well, to not feel burdened by the weight of dreaming.

Ideas are usually complex because they are in the head and still very raw. It also doesn’t help that only a handful of us have the ability and luxury to focus on anything for an extended period of time. You obviously can’t, if your subconscious is also preoccupied with water and Umeme bills, rent, school fees, transport and the cost of internet bundles. So, the first thing you need to do is get that idea out of your head and put it on paper. What do you want to do? Why do you want to do it? Where do you want to do it? When would you like to start? For whom are you doing it? What resources and expertise do you need? Which ones do you have? Who else is doing this sort of stuff? What can you learn from them? Is there an opportunity to partner with others? What is your sustainability plan? What level of involvement do you envision for yourself?

Basically, writing out everything you know or don’t might help save you a lot of time. You are likely to find out, even before you start, whether this is actually something you want to get into or not. But should you decide – for whatever reason – that you want to proceed, the next step is even more crucial. The reason many people don’t start is because they don’t know what the entry point is.

People who marry in Buganda know that during Kukyala and Kwanjula, it is the norm for the Muko to be served Luwombo of an entire chicken. It is a bewildering moment because you don’t know where to start. The good thing is, you are not required to eat the entire bird. You simply have to eat some – and especially the gizzard – which is usually very well hidden. Finding an entry point for an idea you want to start working on is sort of like that.

You won’t have clarity at the start and might even feel overwhelmed. The very best ideas work when you recognize the fact that you need to start small and slowly. They work when you break things down into little pieces and tackle one at a time.

Mr Rukwengye is the founder, Boundless Minds. @Rukwengye