At the heart of all innovation is a single question: “I wonder what would happen if…”

I wasn’t there, but I’m willing to bet that the wheel was invented -- the first time anyway -- when someone said, “I wonder what would happen if I carved off those edges and made this thing round.”

But true innovation only happens when we're in the right frame of mind when we're doing the asking -- the one that pushes us to say, “If it helps enough people, if I can articulate and demonstrate the value, if I care about it deeply enough, and if I am willing to keep opening doors and blowing up brick walls until I see a clear path, then I will be able to do the work to figure out how to bring this thing to market." That's the Possibilities Mindset, and it's the stuff dreams are made of.

But sadly, there are a few other frames of mind that often doom your possibly brilliant ideas before they get off the ground. Steer clear of these 5 idea-murdering mindsets.