Avoid holding on to ideas just because you are used to them
~a recent Fortune in a Fortune Cookie

The world was created by radical “rule breaking” people. You know the type: The ones who broke the rules and then became famous for it. That is why we now have electricity, freedom, telephones, flight, equal opportunity etc. Someone, with a passion for knowledge, people or change decided to step away from the current rules and blaze a trail through the wilderness of common thinking to arrive at the destination of their wildest dreams. They willingly submitted themselves to criticism and ridicule, just so that they could forward their ideas and create something extraordinary.

Take Christopher Columbus for example. I can’t even begin to imagine how he felt as he was preparing for his journey to find a better trade route across the uncharted ocean and trying to convince the kings and queens to support his expedition.

Chris: Hi king, I’d like to take a few small ships out into the ocean and see if we can find you somewhere to get your spices from, other than sailing all the way around Africa, and I want you to fund it. I’d like to leave in the spring? Is that good for you?

King John II of Portugal: You want to what? Sail out into the ocean, with three of my ships, and not be back for a year… or more? You must be daft.

Chris: Yes, but think of the benefits. There will be a shorter route, and you will get a stronghold in the east! All I ask is that when I do this, you make me Great admiral of the ocean, I’ll be the governor of all of the lands that I discover and I get, as payment, one tenth of all revenues generated in these new lands in perpetuity. I think that that’s fair…don’t you?
King John II: You ARE daft.

Of course the king was going to say no; He was rooted in the past and in the impossible. He didn’t have the same vision as Columbus. What Columbus was proposing was something that had never been done before; I think that the real story here was that the king and his advisors were more afraid of risking their money than they were of gaining new territory.

Columbus first presented his plans in 1485, some 7 years before he got the OK and the funding to go. As a matter of fact, he presented his case 4 times: twice to the king of Portugal, and twice to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Each time they would listen to him, but they always said no. He was on his way to king Henry of England when Queen Isabella, probably out of greed, decided to support him. In the wild chance that Columbus was right, she didn’t want the English to get the glory. The rest, as they say, is history. But through it all, Columbus never gave up. For seven years, he never lost his passion or his vision that another way was possible. He was ridiculed, embarrassed, shunned and shut out, but that didn’t sway him, he just clarified his vision and tried another way. And, like any radical idea that has future merit to it, Columbus stayed true to his vision that there was another route until he was given the resources to go.

And throughout history, we’ve had many radical thinkers, both good and bad, whose persistence and persuasion changed the world. There was Noah who took over a hundred years to build his Ark. Can you imagine what the neighbors said? And Socrates who challenged common thinking practices. He was so passionate about it that he was put to death for his passion and ideas. There was Einstein who broke and discovered new rules in physics, and DaVinci who revolutionized engineering and art, and the Wright brothers who broke the rules of gravity with powered flight, and before that the Montgolfier brothers who launched their hot air balloon. Of course there were people like Dr. Martin Luther King who convinced a nation that all people were created equal and what about Mikhail Gorbachev who introduced Perestroika to a communist nation? These were all radical thinkers who dared to believe that there was another route, and they were willing to withstand the ridicule, embarrassment and pain of going against common opinion. They all knew that the enemy of progress is conformity and consistency, and they dared to step out of line and create their own.

Do you dream of making a difference in yours or someone else’s life? Have you taken action on it, or are you afraid of what others would say? Do you rock the boat, or do you sit demurely in the centre with the other 80% of the world, hold on tight and “go with the flow”?

What extraordinary ideas are you holding on to, that if released would create an extraordinary change? I have talked to thousands of people over the years, and I can tell you that everyone has great ideas, but only a very minute few will actually put them into action. These are the world changers. Everyone can be one; But first they must have belief; belief in themselves and belief in their ideas, and then they must have persistence to stay the course while all around them they will be getting criticism.

Do you want to see a better world? Do you have ideas on how to improve our children’s education? Do you have a better way to run a business…or save a life? Please don’t hold on to that idea, share it with the world. We are right now at a place in history where we need radical thinkers who are willing to break some rules to create a better world, to solve terrorism, to improve our environment, find alternate energy sources or to eliminate poverty. It CAN be done; we just need people like you to be willing to share your mind and ideas with the world.

Will you discover a new route? Will you create something extraordinary?
Paul

For 22 years, Paul Kearley has thrived in the personal development and coaching business. As a Master Coach for the past 10 years, Paul’s passion is in developing and creating increased potential with both clients and other trainers.
A columnist for two newspapers in Eastern Canada, and editor for his own weekly ezine, Paul writes articles that address the everyday challenges we all have and face in life and in business, and offers suggestions for success.

If you’d like to connect with Paul or subscribe to “E-Motion” his weekly ezine, simply goto the web site at http://www.mustfactor.com or by calling 506 433 4722.