The hair is definitely staying short. If someone wants to pay me for long hair, they can put a fucking wig on my head.

As for getting to the "testing ideas and running with them as far as they go which isn't necessarily to completion" thing -- I've no idea. Sadly, I suspect we believe these things when we're ready to; for me it took a verbal ass-kicking from elsehwere. I'm not proud of that, but at least I was ready to listen. God, isn't that shit advice? "One day, the right person will yell at you!"