Every visionary was ridiculed initially before they were revered. Think of Berners
-Lee, the creator of the internet. Think of Galileo saying the Earth is not flat, the Earth is round. Think of Elon Musk putting a person on Mars. Think of Shakespeare. Think of Jean-Michel Basquiat, toiling in anonymity, creating these paintings. I read recently, Blondie, the artist who is famous in the ’70s, bought Jean-Michel Basquiat’s first painting for $200. Now, a painting of his can go for a hundred million dollars, but he was
initially laughed at before he was revered. Think of Beethoven. Think of the great scientists who gave us the discoveries that now allow us to live healthfully. And so, we can follow the crowd or we can change the world, but we can’t do both.
If you’re going to refuse to follow the crowd and listen to the prescriptions of the status quo, it means you will be different. You will be a pirate, you will be unorthodox, you will be a contrarian. I’m encouraging you to embrace that. If you have a bold vision for a new company or a new routine or a new piece of art or whatever it is, trust that instinct and those silent whispers of that higher power deep within you. We have that wise, strong, undefeatable core within us that is our higher power. It whispers to us, and it tells us where we must live, who we must associate with, what is right for us. When we don’t listen to that, we often fall into the most difficult times of our lives.
