What's an idea? Google says it's a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action; a mental impression; an opinion or belief; the aim or purpose. Now how is it powerful? It's as simple as — when I get the idea of eating maggi noodles at 2 a.m. in the morning I can't help but eat it (even if I really am not that hungry) or when the idea of owning the copy of series Game of thrones (Book 1 to 5 of the series) struck me, I couldn't help it and ended up ordering the series from Amazon ( though I could have read the e-books for free) or when the thought of watching Fast and Furious series before Fast and Furious 9 hits the theatre hit me, I couldn't help but download all the movies in the series (though I still haven't watched a single movie as of yet) or when... I guess you get the idea (chuckles).

My intention is to bring forth the emotion of helplessness of one's body when an idea overpowers it. Mind you it is similar for everyone. However, it can take a time span of just about few hours to even many years for a mind to nurture an idea and formulate a plan so as to execute it in order to make the idea come to fruition, for it can vary in it's intensity and complexity (above mentioned ones were quite simpler, thus easy to make happen).

Allow me to quote from the movie ‘Inception'— “An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow...it can grow to define or destroy you". –Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), Inception (2009). Yes, I am talking about the Blockbuster directed by Christopher Nolan wherein Cobb's mission was to implant a thought in the mind of the son of a powerful industrialist that will drive him to break up the massive conglomerate he will inherit from his dying father; by infiltrating the subconscious of his subject (the son) and imparting one simple idea (i.e., “My father wants me to be my own man") while experiencing shared dreaming (total sci-fi). Also, Cobb implanted an idea in the mind of his wife that the world was not real, using a rudimentary form of Inception. However, when she woke up from the dream, Mal was still convinced that she was not in the real world. In an attempt to “wake up" for real, Mal committed suicide. Yes! A simple idea, once planted in a mind has the power to make the body perform such extremities. (P.S. - Do watch the movie if you haven't already.)

Case in point, in a 1990 interview, Steve Jobs shares a poignant moment from his youth where a Scientific American article changed his life. The article contained a chart showing how humans riding bicycles have more efficient locomotion than condors flying. Jobs came to the conclusion that people are tool builders. In kind, he viewed the PC the same way, as a “bicycle of the mind” – a tool that could harness the power of imagination. This is the idea that came to define Apple's products and how they are designed and marketed to this very day! 

Here is the link to the transcript of the interview where he shared these thoughts

External factors and experiences have a major role to play in influencing your ideas. Some external forces might be such that they straightaway plant an idea in your mind through mere (aggressive) communication and make you work according to their wish. The difference between a Soldier/ Bomb Disposal Squad and a Suicide Bomber is only the stark contrast of the ideas that shaped their lives. Both keep their own lives on the line, however, one to protect those of the masses while other to end them. Ideas possess that kind of power, however, each mind is capable of generating different kinds of ideas. A new study suggests that one has approximately 6,200 thoughts per day, although many will be the same ones looping round and round on your grooved cranial highway. So allow your mind to run wild and also let it fly, think open-mindedly and freely as ideas are defining. Whether it is product development, personal achievement or your love life, find that defining idea and let it go “viral”. It will be simple, likely no more than a single sentence, and it will be the basis of all your successes. However, reckon the importance of self-control for the ideas of non-positive basis for all Ideas are seeds that can grow and alter the course of both civilizations and individual lives for better or for worse.