Are you Crazy? by Steve Anderson

Do you ever have ideas that you think are crazy? Is your next thought, "I can't do that, everyone will think I am...crazy!" I am writing this to urge you to start to do more crazy things. Ingrid Bergman said, "Be yourself, the world worships an original." The thing that is most special about you probably seems crazy by today's standards, but if no one ever tried anything crazy, we'd still be back in the dark ages. When Einstein developed his theory of relativity, he used to lie in bed and imagine himself riding on a rocket ship through the universe. A lot of his theories came from his imagination. In fact, he came up with the theory of relativity in 1908 and spent the next ten years proving it mathematically. Pretty crazy, right? On a personal note, when I left my family's business in 1994, many people told me I was crazy to leave such a secure business. I wasn't sure they were wrong. But I decided that I could help more people doing what I am doing now, so I set off on this journey. Thank goodness I did something crazy! Here are some thoughts about using crazy ideas to become more fulfilled and successful:

1. Make time in your day to be quiet to generate crazy ideas. We get new perspectives on present problems by being still.
2. Once you get an idea, write about it. You can do a lot of trouble shooting on new ideas by thinking critically about them.
3. If your idea has passed the writing test then get someone you trust to talk about the idea with you. Never do this with a cynic. They hate risk!
4. If you think the crazy idea might work, try out a small experiment first. If you are pretty sure you can fly off the Empire State Building by jumping off the edge and flapping your arms, I suggest you try it on a chair in your living room first!