Are all random ideas worth the effort?

Suddenly an idea strikes me and I start thinking about it. In the initial hours (can be days), the prospect looks very exciting and promising, however with time I am able to see the flaws/loopholes/discouragements w.r.t the concept. And this hasn't happened once, but almost each time. In fact, the end results till now have only been that I've materialized none of the ideas and all have ended up being just a dream.

I am not a specialized person and the ideas I imagine of are mostly related to usual day-to-day affairs and nothing deep-skilled or esoteric. And that has been one of the major reasons behind me not going after the idea implementation. Each time I get an idea, the next day I think that if it would have been that great, it's so generic that someone would have implemented it anyways.

Now I've reached such a state that any new idea makes me feel more dreaded than excited. :(

I wanted to know from you guys if this is just normal or am I looking at things from a wrong perspective. Does each and every idea which we think of, should be worked upon diligently?

Your post brings me back to a Post that another startup entrepreneur wrote about the value of ideas:

It’s so funny when I hear people being
so protective of ideas. (People who
want me to sign an NDA to tell me the
simplest idea.)

To me, ideas are worth nothing unless
executed. They are just a multiplier.
Execution is worth millions.

Explanation:

AWFUL IDEA = -1

WEAK IDEA = 1

SO-SO IDEA = 5

GOOD IDEA = 10

GREAT IDEA = 15

BRILLIANT IDEA = 20

NO EXECUTION = $1

WEAK EXECUTION = $1000

SO-SO- EXECUTION = $10,000

GOOD EXECUTION = $100,000

GREAT EXECUTION = $1,000,000

BRILLIANT EXECUTION = $10,000,000

To make a business, you need to
multiply the two.

The most brilliant idea, with no
execution, is worth $20. The most
brilliant idea takes great execution
to be worth $20,000,000.

That’s why I don’t want to hear
people’s ideas. I’m not interested
until I see their execution.

-- Derek Sivers

It's easy to find potential problems in anything you dream up - the real challenge is how to execute and find ways around them. Some ideas take years for the right conditions / breakthroughs to surface.

Good luck.

All ideas, no matter how great, have flaws. Being able to see the flaws is as important as having the idea itself. It sounds like you have no problem poking holes in your own ideas, and as such, you are already in a better shape than 90% of the general populous. The more common trap is to be blinded by your love for your idea that you miss its flaws before it's too late.

It is not how great your idea is or what the flaw is that determine the success and failure of a particular venture. It is how you deal with the flaw.

If the flaw is that someone has already done it, find a way to do it better.
If the flaw is that you don't have the specialized skills to pull it off, teach yourself those skills or find co-founders that do. If you have the resources, hire someone to do it for you.

The one advice that I can give you is to keep having those ideas- but think more deeply about the flaws and look for ways to beat it. Great ideas are implemented not because they are great ideas- but because someone took the time to overcome their flaws. You should be glad that flaws exist in all great ideas, because if they didn't, someone would have done them already.

Good luck!

Many ideas are worth communicating before you invest too much solo time into them -- where you see loopholes others may have a solution and vice versa. Organized team brainstorming helps a lot... It's also good to bounce your ideas off a mentor.

Your key word above is "random". Focus on organizing them. Having others involved helps.