Be a Crank

"A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds." - Mark Twain

I think the people with the most courage are those who do the right thing no matter what. I can’t remember who said it right now but the best I have heard is:

“The opposite of fear is not courage it is conformity.”

I look at people who are now called visionary who in the beginning were cranks. They were looked upon as being ‘out there’ when they first started doing their thing and then once they started to see success were finally accepted as visionary.

There is a lot going on now with the change in government in the US. Both ‘sides’ are being irrational in my mind. A lot of fear mongering is going on. There is one ‘crank’, a voice in the wilderness who is tirelessly telling people what is what. I am very interested to see what the population of the US will be saying in a year or so about this ‘crank’.

I see people around me who are brave enough to change the way things are done simply because they don’t care what others think about them. I believe the shackles that bind most people is the addiction they have to caring about what others think about them. I say be damned about what others think of you.

If you are progressing along your life path and doing things that are not hurting others, and in the long run will help others, then you are doing well. Who cares if others think of you as a crank? All of the great philosophers talk of taking the ‘road less travelled’.

Jim Rohn keeps talking about people who think it is crowded at the top. The bottom rings are where it is clogged. Once you climb a couple of rungs the air gets clearer, the sun shines longer. If the pack is going one way, you go the other!

There is a guy who lives across the road from me, Bill is his name. A number of people think Bill is a nice guy but odd. Bill traveled the world in his youth, was one of the first IT teachers at high school teaching computers when no one else was, led a small IT revolutions with a company here in Milton. Bill swam against the crowd. Bill was a crank. Be like Bill.

If you have a dream live it. Don’t give a damn about what other people think. Guard your heart and chase that dream. When you achieve it everyone will say WOW but again – who gives a damn about them.

Have a wonderful day and live life like a crank!