Dare to Be Stupid

P.O Box 1540, Albany Western Australia 6331
Phone/Fax: (08) 98 418 418
E-mail: abl-alb@omninet.net.au

Dare to Be Stupid
Friends, it seems to me that the first time anything new and creative is proposed, it gets labelled. And the label put on these novel things is likely to be “stupid.” Can’t you just hear it? “Let me get this, Orville. You and Wilbur are building a machine that will do what? Heavier-than-air flying machines are the stupidest hoax anybody ever palmed off on two gullible boys like you Wrights. Get a real job!” Or perhaps it was somebody’s harebrained idea of talking pictures, the Mundaring Weir to Kalgoorlie water pipe line, or walking on the moon. More than one person was berated simply for giving voice to such “silly” ideas. However, it turns out that some of the people who dared to propose such outlandish possibilities are now regarded as geniuses. Revolutionaries - Heroes; and it was only because they dared to question others and to question themselves. In so doing, they challenged the limitations others were willing to take for granted. There is something in your profession or business, your family or church that could be done better. Such as: a situation could be more productive or a relationship could be healthier or an objective could be clarified. Some lofty ideal to which all in the group give lip service to could actually be implemented. But I warn you up front: like restoring a car of horse, it will take twice as long as you thought, cost far more than you anticipated, and strain every important relationship in your life! And the challenging thing about all of this is that only you can decide if it will be worth it to undertake something so ambitious and costly. Of course there will be false starts. There will also be embarrassing mistakes along the way. But the potential outcome could be as important to your personal situation as the achievements of the Wright brothers, C.Y. O’Connor, and Neil Armstrong were to their time and place. The problem with our world is not that there are no more frontiers to challenge and conquer; it’s that there are too few explorers. There are too few people willing to ask the obvious questions and challenge the traditional wisdom. In a word, too few of us want to take the risks that could make us look stupid. And with no irreverence intended, I’m certain that people put that label on Jesus. They called him demon-possessed and crazy, a blasphemer and insurrectionist. All of this came about because he dared to question conventional wisdom and practices. So my friends, if any of you are fortunate enough to have a dream in your heart, I encourage you to be willing to make mistakes in pursuit of it. Dare to be stupid. You just might change the world! I sincerely hope that what I have shared with you today might help some of you to find and enjoy a better life. If you care to write, I’d be pleased to hear from you. Email me or write to me at P.O Box 1540, Albany W.A 6331. Telephone / Fax (08) 98 418 418

Dare to Be Stupid

Friends, it seems to me that the first time anything new and creative is proposed, it gets labelled. And the label put on these novel things is likely to be “stupid.” Can’t you just hear it?

“Let me get this, Orville. You and Wilbur are building a machine that will do what? Heavier-than-air flying machines are the stupidest hoax anybody ever palmed off on two gullible boys like you Wrights. Get a real job!”

Or perhaps it was somebody’s harebrained idea of talking pictures, the Mundaring Weir to Kalgoorlie water pipe line, or walking on the moon. More than one person was berated simply for giving voice to such “silly” ideas.

However, it turns out that some of the people who dared to propose such outlandish possibilities are now regarded as geniuses. Revolutionaries - Heroes; and it was only because they dared to question others and to question themselves. In so doing, they challenged the limitations others were willing to take for granted.

There is something in your profession or business, your family or church that could be done better. Such as: a situation could be more productive or a relationship could be healthier or an objective could be clarified. Some lofty ideal to which all in the group give lip service to could actually be implemented. But I warn you up front: like restoring a car of horse, it will take twice as long as you thought, cost far more than you anticipated, and strain every important relationship in your life!

And the challenging thing about all of this is that only you can decide if it will be worth it to undertake something so ambitious and costly. Of course there will be false starts. There will also be embarrassing mistakes along the way. But the potential outcome could be as important to your personal situation as the achievements of the Wright brothers, C.Y. O’Connor, and Neil Armstrong were to their time and place.

The problem with our world is not that there are no more frontiers to challenge and conquer; it’s that there are too few explorers. There are too few people willing to ask the obvious questions and challenge the traditional wisdom. In a word, too few of us want to take the risks that could make us look stupid.

And with no irreverence intended, I’m certain that people put that label on Jesus. They called him demon-possessed and crazy, a blasphemer and insurrectionist. All of this came about because he dared to question conventional wisdom and practices.

So my friends, if any of you are fortunate enough to have a dream in your heart, I encourage you to be willing to make mistakes in pursuit of it. Dare to be stupid. You just might change the world!

I sincerely hope that what I have shared with you today might help some of you to find and enjoy a better life. If you care to write, I’d be pleased to hear from you.

Email me
or write to me at
P.O Box 1540,
Albany W.A 6331.

Telephone / Fax (08) 98 418 418