We start out in life by learning things that are already known. We learn to color within the lines. We finally master our ABC’s. Following that we learn the sounds the letters make. This leads to sounding out words. This, of course, leads to reading and writing sentences. The fact is for some people, that is as far as this goes. We all learn to use language sufficiently to communicate in our daily lives. Some of us become somewhat skilled at the use of language to communicate, and others have only a functional grasp.

The same pattern holds true for the use of numbers. After we learn to count, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into learning various functions. I remember learning my addition tables. Many of these we simply memorized. Learning by rote gave us a basic grasp of the tools we need. There were, if memory serves correctly, also multiplication tables to be learned. A lot of work went into the process. I do recall a real sense of satisfaction at mastery of all those facts.

Music is another discipline that starts out by memorizing. If we make any real progress in either vocal or instrumental music, learning the noites is the basic starting place. To advance, we learn things like octaves. We also become aware of sharps and flats. Relatively few people make it beyond a rudimentary understanding of music theory, but there can be limitless satisfaction for those who do.

These three areas in which ideas and feelings can be expressed and communicated represent some of the areas in life in which most of us acquire a basic understanding. It is entirely possible none of us has gotten a crazy, brilliant idea in one or more of these areas. As an example, I have never had a moment of inspiration regarding numbers. I have never thought of something even remotely related to numbers and wondered why no one had ever thought of that before. There is really no possibility that I will ever think of something like the theory of relativity or observe something and speak something as profound as the law of gravity.

My point is not that I will most likely not discover something profound and life altering as these discoveries. It is at least fairly certain I will not do this in one of these areas. On the other hand, I haven’t totally given up on having one of those discoveries in another area of life. I will admit I have had a few times in my life when I was pretty certain I had a way of thinking about things or doing things that no one was doing at the moment.

While these ideas have exactly changed the world, I would like to believe they have improved if not drastically altered the lives of others for the better. Let me tell you a little secret. If you are going to come up with crazy ideas, have several. More of my crazy ideas have ended up being just that than the ones that have made and difference at all.

As we move forward, take time to think of ideas you have had that might have seemed crazy, simply because no one has thought of it before. These can come from your personal experiences. I often ask people,”What would you do if time and money were not a factor?” That can be an exciting way to dream and envision.

As we move forward, I invite you to join me in searching for those new, unique, yet untried ideas. You’ll never know what your “crazy” idea might mean to someone else, or even the world.

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