Write it down

How many life-changing moments are lost forever because we didn’t take a few seconds to capture them?

Write it down.

That book recommendation from your friend.
That niche business that’s killing it, and you’ve never heard of.
That new app that’s been all the buzz.

Write it down.

That phone number they left for you.
That name of the person that’s supposed to be great at exactly the thing you need help with.
That life-changing yoga retreat your coworker went to.

Write it down.

You won’t remember it later.
They won’t mention it later.
It won’t come up later.

Write it down.

How many ideas have been lost to the “ether” because someone forgot to write it down? How many threads have remained un-pulled? How many rabbit holes left unexplored?

How do you measure the magnitude of this loss? What was it in GDP? In fulfillment? In joy? In memories? In paths not travelled?

How many forks in the multiverse occur every time you forget to write something down?

In 2019, my friends and I took a trip to Japan. We riffed on startup ideas the entire time — on the train, in the hotel, and even in the public onsens.

At the very end of the trip at dinner, here’s what happened:

Man we should really start something when we get back.”
“I feel like we have all these ideas when we’re on vacation, but once we get into our routines & jobs, we just forget.”
“Let’s write this down, and create a calendar invite for next Sunday to meet and talk about startup ideas.”
“Uhmmm… ok.

At our first “startup ideas” meeting, we just looked at pictures from university. At our second meeting, we watched Rick & Morty and ordered burritos. But by our third meeting, we figured we should probably think about some ideas.

Hundreds of weekly meetings later, here we are.

A real company. With real customers. Real product. Real revenue. Real employees.

All because we wrote it down.

It’s happened so many times in my life that I now refuse to let any interesting suggestions get past me.

It might sit forever in my browser history, but it’s not getting lost in the fog.

So the next time you come across something you want to remember…

Write it down.