"many people live in the idea of the idea rather than make it life."

The figure above showcases the basic stages of an idea's journey. The midpoint offers the highest resistance. It is also the point of Psychological Inertia.

One does not make an entrepreneur if the idea fails in its journey. The journey of the idea is on-ground and based on visible results. The entrepreneur goes through an inner journey which is affected by Psychological Inertia.

It is not uncommon for a good idea or a viable opportunity to present itself.  There is the cost to pre-realising an idea and the cost of the idea realised. To many entrepreneurs and ideators, the internal (psychological) cost to realise the idea proves far greater than the cost of it realised.

Looking at the various states and stages

The first stage or inception is the point of origin, the moment in time when an individual/ entrepreneur is inspired to do something.

 

Second stage is when the idea is mulled over, various permutations and combinations thought on and fantasies of implementation dreamt of.

Conversations with friends, family and known experts happen at this stage. Since this exposure is limited, in some cases it can lead to a false outlook or provide all the reason to materialise the Idea.

The third stage is personal satisfaction gleaned by the concept of the idea. This stage is also the comfort-zone.
Many are known to thrive just on the fact that they have a good idea. Others make a limited effort and fall back into notion that if they do it right they could do something. Psychological Inertia plays a big role at this stage.

There are two counteracting factors at this stage which are
 Limited implementation in the individual's life.
 Failure of mainstream implementation

In the fourth stage resources are assembled and product planning is done. This is normally when funds are sought, preliminary investments made and steps taken towards running a business. The pitfalls most seen in this stage is misinformation, oversight and lack of additional perspective.

The following occur in this stage:
 Reading up and interaction with peers on the concept
 Preliminary groundwork and preparation – the scope of this is generally limited to extent of research
 Evaluate similar examples
 Conclusion – either all positives or a no-go

The fifth is the point of implementation. Many entrepreneurs get to this stage with a good amount of effort but face trouble in the follow-through.

The Idea itself and intended delivery approach might have changed (evolved) at this stage. The key words here are preparation, perspective, perspiration and adaptation. You cannot have enough of each of the above.

It includes the following:
 Evaluate and pre-fix resources and sources of resources
 Final preparations, setting up necessary infrastructure
 Apply for and shore up funding
 Produce the product
 Market product
 Handle sales & service

Each of the above tasks have counteracting factors influencing them. To get each of them done in order and with ideal result is the aim.

An idea that survives through these stages and stays afloat is deemed to have reached mainstream success.