There is
a saying: If you make people think they are thinking, they will love you. If
you make people really think, they will hate you.
a saying: If you make people think they are thinking, they will love you. If
you make people really think, they will hate you.
In
Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, he talks about how people stand in long lines and buy tickets
from scalpers to see Britney Spears. Yet, in China, they stand in long lines
and scalp tickets to hear Bill Gates speak. Friedman makes this point to
question American values and priorities.
Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat, he talks about how people stand in long lines and buy tickets
from scalpers to see Britney Spears. Yet, in China, they stand in long lines
and scalp tickets to hear Bill Gates speak. Friedman makes this point to
question American values and priorities.
Britney helps
us escape reality. Great innovators such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Frederick
Douglas, Henry Ford and, for those of you who want to think, Nikola Tesla,
helped us invent new realities.
us escape reality. Great innovators such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Frederick
Douglas, Henry Ford and, for those of you who want to think, Nikola Tesla,
helped us invent new realities.
Why do
we, at first, condemn those who give us new realities?
we, at first, condemn those who give us new realities?
If you factor in my
previous article where I said we all have an identity that was given to us, you
start to understand why true thinking makes us uncomfortable.
I
distinguish thinking from having thoughts. Thoughts are the process of
organizing the current knowledge and experience you have to come up with ideas
about your present or future situation. Thinking, on the other hand, requires
you to envision that which you have not thought or experienced. The dilemma is
that thinking forces you to consider possibilities for which you do not have it
all figured out and thus creates confusion. Too often, leaders avoid confusion
because it makes them look unconfident when they do not know the answers.
distinguish thinking from having thoughts. Thoughts are the process of
organizing the current knowledge and experience you have to come up with ideas
about your present or future situation. Thinking, on the other hand, requires
you to envision that which you have not thought or experienced. The dilemma is
that thinking forces you to consider possibilities for which you do not have it
all figured out and thus creates confusion. Too often, leaders avoid confusion
because it makes them look unconfident when they do not know the answers.
Since we
are taught that confused people lack confidence, we do not consider that
confusion could be the pathway to brilliance. We do not even consider that
there are tools that empower us to navigate through confusion. We go about our
daily lives looking up to people who entertain us and make us comfortable with
our current thoughts. As I said, when people make us think we are thinking we
love them. That is because they meet us where we are – our current reality –
and ask us to stretch it just enough to make us proud.
are taught that confused people lack confidence, we do not consider that
confusion could be the pathway to brilliance. We do not even consider that
there are tools that empower us to navigate through confusion. We go about our
daily lives looking up to people who entertain us and make us comfortable with
our current thoughts. As I said, when people make us think we are thinking we
love them. That is because they meet us where we are – our current reality –
and ask us to stretch it just enough to make us proud.
I
mentioned Nikola Tesla. He promulgated wireless technology in the early 1900s.
The scientific world called him a fool. They said if you send out a wireless
signal, it will continue out into space for infinity. They believed a wireless
signal could not travel around the earth. For the scientific community, that
was reality. And they lived it like a fact. What reality do you hold as a fact
and live like that is just the way it is? (or, I can say: where would society
be if we were more open to new realities of inventors?)
mentioned Nikola Tesla. He promulgated wireless technology in the early 1900s.
The scientific world called him a fool. They said if you send out a wireless
signal, it will continue out into space for infinity. They believed a wireless
signal could not travel around the earth. For the scientific community, that
was reality. And they lived it like a fact. What reality do you hold as a fact
and live like that is just the way it is? (or, I can say: where would society
be if we were more open to new realities of inventors?)
I
encourage you to step out of the box and think that which you have never
thought. If you would like to know about the tools that can support you, start
a conversation about some impossibility that you would like to see become
reality. You will be amazed at the possibilities that are hidden in plain site.
encourage you to step out of the box and think that which you have never
thought. If you would like to know about the tools that can support you, start
a conversation about some impossibility that you would like to see become
reality. You will be amazed at the possibilities that are hidden in plain site.
Please let me know what you think in the comments. Leave your questions or let me know if you’d like my perspective on an issue. I always try to address each note individually.