#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
Tag Archives: taking risks
ARE YOU TEACHING YOUR KIDS TO TAKE RISKS — OR NOT?
#TakingRisks #security #ancestors #parents #LessonsfromAncestors
In an Ancestry.com TV ad, the leading lady says, to paraphrase, our ancestors were the kind of people who took risks.
And, it implies, she wants her children to know that their ancestors took risks to come to America from wherever they came from.
Such inspiring parenting leads to the question: does this same lady want HER kids to take risks? Or, did her ancestors take the risks so their descendants wouldn’t have to?
In generations past, even though the elders came from risk-taking stock, parents taught their kids to look for security. Work hard, but keep your head low. Make sure that if you get a job, it provides you with what you need for a comfortable life.
In other words, they were taught to look for and settle for contentment. After all, taking risks would jeopardize your comfortable life.
So, are today’s parents teaching their kids what their parents taught them?
To paraphrase Andy Andrews, the Greatest Generation may not have been the greatest. Their parents may have been the greatest generation, because they raised the Greatest Generation.
We all want to raise our children to be responsible adults. But, in today’s world, what we used to call responsibility is harder to come by.
There are no safe, secure jobs and work environments – or, at least, very few of them.
In past decades, progress in the workplace plodded.
Today, progress can be instantaneous.
And, progress can interfere with the secure, safe, contented life parents of yesteryear wanted for their children.
Today, we hear teachings that say things like: be innovative, be creative, dream big and follow your dreams.
In the past, dreams interrupted contentment. Today, contentment is hardly good enough to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
So, where does that leave you? Are you merely content? Or, do you go to work each day waiting for the next shoe to drop?
Either position is, or will be, untenable in today’s world.
But there are programs out there that can move you to the next step in a changing world. You just have to be willing to check them out. Also, they may involve doing something you would have never thought you would do – or, perhaps, have been taught by your elders to avoid.
These programs don’t care about your education, background or experience. They just want you to open your mind, get out of your comfort zone and be coachable.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Today’s world requires flexibility, desire and a willingness to be uncomfortable. Finding the spot that gives you a content, comfortable life – nothing special – is fraught with peril.
Don’t settle for contentment. Instead, go for prosperity. Explore new ways to channel your energy into a life that not only benefits you, but also can benefit others.
A life with purpose can breed prosperity for those who continue to evolve, explore and, when they find the right thing, pursue it with consistency.
Peter