eurekaFor the past week, I’ve been sweating the first draft of a project for a new client. I thought about it in the bathtub, while running, as I did dishes, at dinner with D.J…. I think I even dreamed about it. But nothing was coming, and the deadline was NOW!

Today, during my quiet Sunday morning, I printed out all the notes. I closed out all the windows on my computer. I shut my front door. I put my BlackBerry out of reach. I opened a blank document as I reviewed the notes, and finally, I took a think around the block.

And the idea came.

Frankly, I think it’s perfect. I think it integrates the ideas we had and helps differentiate this company from competitors. I ended up writing just 150 words, but the concept will guide the rest of the website and will shape all the things we need to create.

I love it, but I gotta tell you my stomach is in knots to see if my client’s team loves it. As I see it, one of four things will happen at this point:

  1. They’ll love it, and we’ll move forward very rapidly from here.
  2. They’ll love parts of it, and we’ll wrestle with the second draft for at least a week.
  3. They’ll say it misses the mark, but it’ll help us narrow down what the mark is.
  4. They’ll hate it, and I’ll sheepishly submit my final invoice.

I’d love #1.

I could deal with #2 or #3.

I will cry with #4.