Unreasonable and Irrational
Let’s face it. Most “creative” people can be a bit difficult to deal with. There are medical studies that link bipolar disorders to increased creative activity, and there are no shortage of stories about the crazy acts of some of the world’s most reknown artists and creative minds. Van Gogh sliced into his ear to prove his love, Edison slept in 15 minute cycles beneath his workbench, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent visitor to psychics, and Einstein… well… just look at that hair.
People told them they were crazy. Nuts. Their hard-headed beliefs and theories were completely outrageous — but they continued to unreasonably and irrationally pursue them.
Edison once remarked that most people didn’t recognize opportunity when it came along because it was dressed in overalls and looked like work. Few significant advances in any arena are dubbed ‘reasonable’. But the UNreasonable and IRrational human beings don’t mind raising a bump or two (or three) on their forehead from running full-speed into those barriers erected by their more ‘reasonable’ brethren.
By pursuing their visions beyond what the average person would consider reasonable and rational, these kooks and crazies produced inventions, art, and shared ideas that even the most learned people of the time (of ANY time) considered to be impossible.
The big leaps of innovation are usually made by people who pursue their visions with unreasonable and irrational (sometimes fanatical) devotion and belief to find solutions and prove theories.
How unreasonable and irrational can you be in regard to backing an idea in which you fully believe? How many bumps have you raised on YOUR forehead running into those ‘reasonable and rational’ walls?