DARING VS. STUPIDITY

#daring #stupidity #RiskTaking #innovation #phones #technology

In a restaurant ad, two guys are having lunch, when the boss for one of the guys calls him.

He dunks his phone into his drink.

“I have insurance,” he tells the other.

In a second ad, for a vacation package, three guys go on vacation. When they are all in the pool, one guy pulls out his phone to take a selfie of the three. He drops his phone into the pool.

Good thing he saved all that money on his trip, to paraphrase the narrator. (As an aside, did he put his phone in his bathing-suit pocket before jumping into the pool?)

The first ad begs the question: would your phone’s insurer cover your loss if it knew you deliberately dunked your phone? Also, what would the boss say if he knew that not only did you ignore his call, but also dunked your phone?

There are another ads that show people leaning over a cliff walk to take a selfie. Yes, the person comes close to falling, but he (or she) probably got a great picture. Then, we have the ads in which drivers playing with phones crash.

Does modern telephone technology put something in one’s brain that prompts a person to take such risks?

Certainly, the technology is great if used appropriately. If the guy in the first ad did not want to talk to his boss during lunch, he could have just sent the call to voicemail and called the boss back afterward.

The three vacationers would have been better off to take the selfie on the pool deck, with the pool in the background. If the phone got dropped, presuming it had a protective case, no damage would have been done.

One might say that these scenarios illustrate combining technology with daring.

Others might say they illustrate stupidity.

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, the difference between daring and stupidity is that daring has its limits.

We certainly don’t want to encourage people to always take the safe route. Innovation often requires daring, and over-caution can inhibit innovation.

But daring, as well as genius, should not necessarily be limited. Perhaps smart and daring people know how to limit stupidity better than others.

Most innovative people look for options that those who gravitate to safety would never consider.

Certainly, folks of a certain age remember their parents preaching safety and security above all else.

But the innovative never stop dreaming, though they initially may gravitate to the safe option. The safe option(s) can buy time for ideas to gel. Once that happens, the innovator can use his hours away from his safety and security to bring his or her idea to fruition.

In short, be daring, but be smart. Be safe, but don’t ditch your dream just to be safe.

And, when the call comes that could bring your dream to fruition, don’t dunk your phone.

Peter




TRAPPINGS OF UPBRINGING: PART 2

#thinklikearichperson
Growing up, were you often told what was NOT possible?
Did your elders convince you that the world was going to hell in a hand basket?
Were you constantly reminded of your “limitations?”
And, were you told that if you didn’t do certain things, you’d be messed up for life?
These and other things are common in “middle class” thinking, as defined by author Steve Siebold in his book “How Rich People Think.”
He talks about how we are often steered on a path of security, scarcity and pessimism, as opposed to risk-taking, abundance and optimism.
The trick to getting off that train of thought, and potentially becoming wealthy, is relearning what IS possible, believing that things will always get better and knowing that the sky is the limit to your success.
There is certainly nothing wrong with respecting your elders – parents, teachers, preachers etc. There is nothing wrong with emulating their work ethic and empathizing with their struggles. But ultimately, you may realize that some of what they taught you may not work for you. The secret to becoming rich is believing you can be. The secret to becoming rich, as Siebold points out, is to find solutions to problems, or figuring out what people want and delivering it to them.
If you have a job, and most of us do, recognize it for what it is. Especially in this day and age, it’s hardly the security blanket it once might have been. Look at it as a means to move you toward what you really want – that is, if you think like a rich person.
If you monitor how a rich person behaves, you’ll learn that he doesn’t behave that way BECAUSE he has money. He has money because he behaves the way he does.
Sure, good ideas might come from outside the box. But a familiar pattern of limitless possibilities, optimism and fearlessness are pretty standard among those who have money.
As we grow older, we realize that many of our fears are taught. Much of what we view as “evil” was handed down to us. Much of what we see on the horizon we approach with extreme caution and wariness, out of concern that we might lose everything.
To think rich, you don’t have to be rich. But if you think rich, you might become rich. Start by getting comfortable with taking calculated risks. Then, believe that the world will definitely get better, and you are going to help make it so. Then, realize the security you so doggedly sought is at least teetering, if not collapsed altogether. But, that’s OK. Rich people don’t expect entities to give them anything, Siebold writes.
Take a good look at your life. Are you completely happy with it? You just may be. Perhaps you have a wonderful spouse , a supportive family and dependable friends. With all that, who needs financial abundance, right?
But if life is not giving you what you want, and believe you deserve, visit www.bign.com/pbilodeau. Feed your mind with good information, inspiration and possibilities. Learn that your future can be bright no matter what else happens.
To paraphrase Napoleon Hill, learn to think and become rich.
Peter