This article is being “penned” from 31,000 ft above somewhere over middle America on a trip that started in Oregon this morning and ends in Charleston, SC tonight. If that sentence right there didn’t blow your mind… why not?
How about this… I’m typing this on this light as a feather MacBook Air laptop w/ a 12 hour battery life, it can store something like 70,000 songs, hundreds of HD movies, or almost limitless files of “whatever else” I wanted to put on here.
You see, this article isn’t about how cool these gadgets are or the “international exploits” of a Roseburg based entrepreneur… this article is about how unreasonable thinking is what truly drives positive change in our world… and here at home.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people tell me “that won’t work”, “That can’t be done”, “That’s impossible”, “Why not just aim your sights a bit more realistic”, and “Just be happy with the way things are”. Heck, we’ve all thought it. All of us who dream to be creators in this world rather than just consumers hear that every day if you’re pushing the boundaries enough to actually matter.
Most people hear those remarks from people and let doubt creep in their minds… and give up their dreams. But those who choose to challenge what’s “normal” and who choose to set out to be “unreasonable”, are the ones that are creating the most impact in the lives of others.
Barely over 100 years ago it was “unreasonable” that people would be able to fly across this country in hunk of metal from coast to coast in less than 6 hours… the norm was a multi-week long drive, a several day long train trek, or before that, a several month deadly journey in a wagon. It was unreasonable that someone could harness electricity and make it turn a light bulb on. It was even once “unreasonable” to think that women would be able to vote. And this computer I’m typing on… everything about it 15 years ago was completely unreasonable… even to some smart people who should have known better.
All of these examples were once considered completely unreasonable (even bordering on “crazy”)… but someone with courage stood up and said, “Nope, it can be done… and I’m going to make it happen”.
Entrepreneurs by nature should be unreasonable.
If you’re not questioning what’s normal and coming up with ideas that people would say are “never gonna happen”… you’re not giving yourself enough credit. If you’re one of the people who is continually skeptical about the “hair brained” ideas someone you know comes up with… realize that it just may be you that’s the unreasonable one… thinking that something can’t be done in this day and age that we live in.
Locally over the next 5 years some things are going to happen to this Roseburg entrepreneur community that a lot of people here currently think are “unreasonable”. Whether you think it can be done or not, this area is going to be seen as one of the entrepreneurial hubs of Oregon and entrepreneurs are going to move from across the state (even the country) to live, work, create jobs, and help build an even better culture here. Cities like Portland, Bend, Eugene, Medford, even ones across the country will look at Roseburg and and say… “How the heck is that little town doing that?”. If you don’t think so, if you think that’s “unreasonable”… think again, because it’s already starting to happen right under your nose. Why? Because a group of us are making it happen.
Be unreasonable. The world needs you. This community needs you.