I love ideas. I used to play a game with myself when my children were toddlers. I would spend at least 15 minutes a day thinking of a new idea or invention. My list of unrealized ideas is impressive. I actually have an account on Edison Nation (www.edisonnation.com) to present my ideas for $20 each. If you make it through the 4 stage process and someone “buys” your idea and produces it, you get royalties. Sometimes I wait months to receive my final rejection. Jeff says I should just hand him $20 each time and be done with it.

The love of ideas is fun mental playtime. But ideas – even good ideas – are otherwise worthless in and of themselves.

“An idea upon which attention is peculiarly concentrated is an idea which tends to realize itself.” Charles Baudouin

I batted this quote around with Charlie and Sam over lunch today. We zeroed in on the word “peculiar.” What is “peculiar concentration?” Their conclusion: This is not normal focus! They agreed with Dr. Baudouin.

I have visions of Acton students walking around while reading and bumping into things because they just can’t put their books down. And students who spend all of their free time and core skills time for days on ST Math because they are laser-focused on their goals. This is great practice in peculiar concentration. Just think about how this will play out in the future when they apply unrelenting, peculiar focus on a really good idea or particular passion of their own.

What idea of yours lies waiting in the wings? Could summer be the time you get peculiar in your concentration? Be careful, though. You never know where such peculiarity may lead. One day Jeff and I had an idea to start a school…..