The Myth of the One Big Idea : Insights from Someday is TODAY

Forget single-minded genius—try consistent, imperfect creative action instead.

Author

Jithin VMadathil
May 02, 2025

This week I am sharing insights from Someday Is Today by Matthew Dicks.

If you've ever said "I'll do it someday," this book is a wake-up call. Matthew Dicks, a bestselling author, storyteller, and teacher, delivers no-nonsense, practical strategies to help you stop procrastinating and start doing—today.

In this issue, we explore why focusing too narrowly can limit your creative potential—and why your best shot at making something great often lies in making many things.

Progress comes not from waiting for brilliance, but from consistently showing up and creating.

Matthew Dicks is a bestselling author, storyteller, and teacher known for his engaging and practical insights on creativity and productivity. He is a multiple-time Moth GrandSLAM storytelling champion and has coached thousands of people in the art of storytelling.

Here is 10 snippets from the book on how to maximize your potential

  1. Single-mindedness is not a useful trait for most creative people, yet it’s quite often the perception that people have when they embark on their creative journey.

  2. I believe that your best chance of making something great is by making many possibly great things.

  3. when one project isn’t moving forward, I simply switch to another.

  4. It’s perfectly fine to have one primary project that you are working on most often, but you should have other side projects in various stages of completion, too.

  5. creative people — the makers of things — benefit from expanding their horizons, taking on new challenges, and placing many irons in the fire. 

  6. an expanding array of knowledge, skills, interests, and pursuits often leads to unexpected and sometimes remarkable results. 

  7. The chicken does not pretend that tomorrow is knowable. The chicken doesn’t assume that today’s passion will be tomorrow’s passion. 

  8. diverse set of experiences opens up a host of unpredictable possibilities. 

  9. No one can juggle multiple projects. You can’t be making different things at the same time. 

  10. We don’t juggle our passions. We engage with them, one at a time, over the course of time. We divide our interests and divide our time in pursuit of those interests, knowing that one may very well inform another. 

P.S. I’d love to know: What is the single snippet above that sounds most interesting or impactful to you?