On Evian water and You as a Big-Time Dreamer

On Evian Water and You as a Big-Time Dreamer

 

If people don’t laugh at you and your ideas at least once a week, you’re not pushing the envelope.

 

There, I said it. I needed to. I’m tired of seeing boring businesses and people afraid to take the road less travelled. Most of the things that fill us with fear never happen, so why let them keep you small.

 

Great people run towards their resistances and play out on the edges of their lives. And great companies spend far less time benchmarking others than creating new ways of delivering outrageous value to their customers. Why, because the world doesn’t need a better close. The world needs more human beings and enterprises that make us say wow. The world needs more giant ideas that no one’s thought of to enrich our customers and improve our communities and elevate the planet. The world needs more visionaries, dreamers and outright revolutionaries. I love what Tom Chappell, founder of Tom’s of Maine, said: “Success means never letting the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about”. Beautiful.

 

All innovators are initially laughed at. Just the way it is. They laughed at Columbus when he said the earth was round. They laughed at the Wright Brothers, who vowed a human being could fly. They laughed at the founder of Evian, who believed people would pay money for water. Who’s laughing now? I guess the universe really does favor the brave.

 

People pay for originality. You want to lead the field in your businesses? Be different. Let them laugh. Let them call you crazy. Let them snicker. Stay true to your vision. Dream bigger. Don’t be ordinary. It’s the kiss of death, as far I can tell.

 

“Businesses need more daring. Business needs more people willing to take risks and play out on the skinny branches”