When someone says they’re an ‘idea person,’ they’re saying:

1. I have ideas. Really good ideas. Ideas that are so good that they can characterize me as a person. Everyone else? Eh, not so good at ideas.
2. Ideas > Actions.
3. I don’t do stuff. I think stuff. Other people can do while I sit here and think. Pass me the butter.

But really:

1. Everyone has ideas. Everyone has really good ideas. But ideas — good ideas — are incredibly common and cheap.
2. Taking something from your head (or from an idea person’s brilliant mouth) and making it a reality — that’s the commodity.
3. It’s the doing that requires the actual work. In doing, you realize the things you couldn’t see from up high: the problems, the inconsistencies, how the implemented idea fits in with everything else. How you deal with those challenges determines whether the idea actualizes or not. This is where skill and experience — not a random firing of neurons — come into play.

So, if you’re calling yourself an ‘idea person,’ stop for a second. Ask yourself:

1. Are my ideas really that much better than everyone else’s? (Probably not.)
2. Are my ideas really more valuable than the skills necessary to make the idea come to fruition? (Definitely not.)
3. Am I being self-important, lazy, or both? (Probably.)