Ideas are cheap — in fact, they are free.  That’s why you can’t patent ideas, only inventions or processes.  It’s what you do with the idea that matters.

How many times have you said, “Hey, he stole my idea!”  Well, what did you do with it?

For example, how many people had the idea to fly to the moon and plant a flag in the dust?  How many of them actually did it?  Are all those left behind going to sue NASA for stealing their idea?

Also, ideas come and go.  If you get a good idea, immediately write it down… or not.  Really, if you forget it, it probably wasn’t that great an idea in the first place.  Plus another idea is already on its way.

The problem isn’t lack of ideas, it’s the lack of time, ability, or drive to make something of them.  Or in the case of planting a flag on the moon — money.

Plus what goes around comes around.  Maybe you have an idea you can’t put into action, but someone else could.  It’s not costing you anything to give it away, is it?

Of course, that’s the rational side of my brain talking.  The irrational side of my brain is always worried about running out of ideas.  So I write down every idea no matter how lame and they are all mine, mine, mine.