This painting is a little bit crazy.
Some people will be quick to point out that cowboys don’t ride dolphins. They’ll scoff that dolphins don’t belong in the sky. They’ll demand an explanation about the meaning of it all.
Those were the same kind of people who scoffed at the Wright Brothers for having the audacity of thinking they could build a flying machine. Humans can’t fly, they said. They don’t belong in the sky, they scoffed. They demanded an explanation for why these two, with no college education, no formal technical training, no experience working with anyone other than themselves, no friends in high places, no financial backers, no government subsidies, and little money of their own, would ever think they could achieve such an absurdity?
To be fair, for more than fifty years, many others before them served as a source of comic relief, mocked and ridiculed in the press for their delusions of grandeur and “childish” flying machines.
Somehow, and to our benefit, this did not deter Wilbur and Orville Wright.
History is filled with people criticized for being crazy.
But, as it’s been said, monuments are not built for critics and statues are not dedicated to fault-finders.
Very often, our dreams appear absurd, especially to others. And especially the big ones.
A horseless carriage?
A self-powered flying machine?
A pocket-sized device you can use to communicate with anyone in the world?
What will they think of next? A flying car? A colony on Mars? A cure for cancer?
This reminder is not reserved for the select few who change world history and have statues erected in their honor. I make a living doing what I love from my studio on the shores of Lake Michigan. Trust me, in the early days of our business, when Kim and I were living on a diet largely dependent on Hamburger Helper and couldn’t afford to run our air conditioning during the hot summer, every bit of my current life seemed far-fetched, to say the least.
Of course, you can’t count on every dream coming true.
But you can count on somebody calling you crazy for dreaming it.
That’s ok.
Keep dreaming anyway.
The best dreams start out a little crazy.
** Jason Kotecki is a globally collected and licensed artist featured in Inc. and Woman’s Day, and the author of seven books, including Penguins Can’t Fly + 39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, A Chance of Awesome, and Must Be Nice. He also recently released his first children’s book, The Penguin Who Flew.
As a speaker who has presented over 1,000 presentations, he helps organizations beat burnout and spark innovation by “breaking rules that don’t exist.” He is one of fewer than 900 speakers worldwide to hold the CSP® (Certified Speaking Professional) designation.
Jason recently shared the keynote, “Rocket Year: Everyday Ways to Ignite Innovation & Growth in the Galaxy of Change,” at the Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine.
Enjoy Jason’s magnificent blend of art and storytelling to learn new ways to create a life with adventure, meaning, and joy by visiting his website: https://EscapeAdulthood.com
Get tested for Adultitis: https://adultitis.org