In praise of being unrealistic

I've been accused of being unrealistic but I didn't know it was a compliment until I read 80/20 Individual by Richard Koch who is often quoted in The 4-Hour Workweek .  I’ve being holding a grudge against several characters from my past for saying “You’re not being realistic.” But now I’m picturing myself showing up on their porches saying “I’m sorry I’ve been poking that voodoo doll of you for all these years. I see now it was a compliment.” 

Why is it a compliment? Because "Reality" is simply how have things have been until now; creativity is by definition unrealistic because you’re bringing something new into the world. Every successful business, every work of art, every inspiring social movement was born of someone thinking “I see a different way than what’s been so far.” Koch says an entrepreneur shifts resources from low to a higher yield. If it were realistic, somebody would already be doing it and the margin wouldn’t exist. These pockets exist all over the place and as technology changes, new pockets appear every day. It’s like a modern day Gold Rush. When you spot one, it is your vein of gold. Why doesn’t everyone else see what is plain-as-day to you? Every little thing that made you the unique individual you are – the good things like being in a play, the bad like being bullied – honed your unique perspective so that your vein of gold may be invisible to others. You get to mine it and afterward people might say “She was so lucky!”

So now when someone says “That seems unrealistic.”  I quietly say to myself “Why Thank You” and make a mental note “Here’s a realist. I’ll need this type to keep things going after I’ve created it.”

I’d love to hear your quotes – the things people told you as a kid that pop back into your head now when you try to create something Brilliantly Unrealistic!

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