Borrowing ideas from others is a great way to innovate, but every creative spark carries an unseen cost. Today we are surrounded by so many different ideas and ways of doing things that deciding what to steal can quickly lead to disorientation instead of clarity.

Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist encourages remixing existing work. I think that’s good advice. But every borrowed idea deserves one more question before we adopt it:

What burden comes attached to this idea?

Creating content has been one of the most frustrating universes to live in.

• What should you write?
• Should you write?
• Should you use a ghostwriter?
• Can you afford a ghostwriter?
• Where should you publish?
• Do you need a personal website?
• Can you afford any of this right now?
• What about other platforms?
• Do you need TikTok? YouTube? Instagram? LinkedIn? Facebook?
• How do you create all this content?
• I cannot afford to hire someone to produce graphics every week.
• This stuff is expensive.
• Will I fall behind if I do nothing?
• Building a business is hard.

This morning I realised something…

For months I had been studying people like Justin Welsh and Scott D. Clary, trying to understand how they built their audiences. There is tremendous value in learning from people doing things and doing it well…but somewhere along the way I got lost in the how they were doing what they were doing, attempting to copy that, yet I never stopped long enough to ask whether their strategy made sense for me.

Instagram, for example, isn’t really where my best conversations happen. LinkedIn however warms the room. That’s where the people I enjoy engaging with are already thinking about leadership, business, and decision-making. In my other thinking container – those posts are reposted to Facebook because that’s where those conversations naturally live.

Beyond that, I found myself wondering whether I even need a Facebook page for the Hudson Alignment Studio, or an Instagram business presence at all.

This was not a skill or capability question because I have been maintaining those pages to some degree but strategically, they no longer make sense.

Every additional platform demands writing, graphics, scheduling, monitoring comments, learning algorithms, adapting formats, and maintaining consistency. None of those things are free. They cost time, attention, energy, and often money.

When I was attempting to copy Akino or Stephen or Justin or Scott – I did not evaluate strategy. I was copying implementation!

Which brought me to this:

There is a hidden burden attached to every borrowed idea. What looks like a brilliant tactic on the outside often comes packaged with responsibilities you could never see or determine in advance.

Every Borrowed Idea Carries a Hidden Burden

• Maintenance Burden: Complex systems, elaborate workflows, or multiple platforms require ongoing care long after the excitement around possibility dissolves and work steps in.

• Financial Burden: Premium software, contractors, subscriptions, advertising, and equipment can consume your budget. “What budget?” I can almost hear you say.

• Skill Burden: Some ideas only work because the person executing them has spent years developing the necessary skills.

• Audience Burden: Just because an audience exists on a platform doesn’t mean your audience is there.

• Strategic Burden: The biggest cost isn’t execution. It’s being pulled away from the work only you can do, that actually creates value.

Before You Borrow, Diagnose

Strip to the core.

Ask yourself what actually makes the original idea effective. Is it the platform, the graphics, the frequency…or is it something much simpler? Borrow the principle before you borrow the packaging.

Audit your resources.

How much time, money, attention, and emotional energy will this require? Can you realistically sustain it six months from now…willingly not kicking and screaming?

Test before you commit.

Build the smallest version possible. If the process already feels heavy, the full version won’t become lighter.

Think beyond today.

Every decision creates tomorrow’s workload. Prefer systems that continue creating value long after you’ve finished building them.

Strategic Reflection Prompt

Before adopting someone else’s strategy this week, ask yourself one simple question:

Am I borrowing what makes it effective or am I borrowing because it seems like something I SHOULD be doing

“Should” is the clue, because the smartest strategy isn’t the one that works for someone else. It will be the one you can execute consistently with the resources, strengths, and life you actually have.

About Giselle

Most costly decisions begin with an inaccurate understanding of the situation.

I’m Giselle Hudson. As a writer and Pre-Decision Diagnostic Advisor, I illuminate understanding so leaders can see more clearly, make wiser decisions, and build better businesses.

Through my daily Strategic Alignment Journal, I explore leadership, decision-making, and the patterns that shape organizations, helping leaders make sense of complexity before committing significant time, money, or resources.

If you could better understand one thing about your business right now, what would it be?