Big ideas - the ones that turn into billion dollar companies, the ones that turn into bestselling novels, the ones that turn into high grossing movies, are worth pursuing. 

In fact, everyone in the world is pursuing a big idea in some aspect of their lives that matters to them, and it is usually in a dominant part of their lives - like their work. 

There are two ways to go about this. 

You can keep thinking up different ideas until you come up with a big one. One that gives you the big break. One that works big time. 

The problem with this is approach is that it is hugely inefficient. 

There is no structure to the ideas. And they can be about anything. And they usually are about anything. And only one in a million such ideas actually turn out to be ones that can go big. 

Hardly anyone persists long enough to keep coming up with new ideas until they hit the big one. They give up after a few failed attempts. 

And maybe a handful hit the lottery this way and find one that works early enough before they give up. 

The other approach is to not play the lottery.

Instead, it is to do the hard work of understanding how the world works, where problems exist, where value can be added, and then come up with an idea that does just that.

And this works every time. 

Of course, the very first idea might not work. 

But, if the understanding of the world is right and the understanding of where problems exist and where value can be added is right, then a handful of ideas are good enough to chance upon one that works.

You don't have big ideas if what you're doing is looking for big ideas.

You have big ideas when you are understanding the world around you with a curious mind.