The “What-If" People Are the Ones Who Change the World
I can very easily imagine that the community in which Orville and Wilbur lived thought they were absolutely off their rockers.
Think about it. It’s one thing to simply say you will achieve something no one has ever achieved before. It’s another to completely break (what people knew then as) the laws of physics! Humans, fly? Complete absurdity. “If God wanted humans to fly, he’d have given us wings for arms”. I’m sure they heard that one a lot. We were, however, given brains in our heads to chase our dreams and prove the impossible.
The Wright Brothers are one of the best examples out there that I can think of when naming the makers and doers in this world. They quite frankly changed the world and how we see it.
My point in bringing up the Wright brothers is if they listened to early criticism, their plans of human flight would never have gotten off the ground (pun intended). They made their dreams a reality and not only for them, but for the many generations that came afterward. All they had to do is ask themselves “what-if”.
A sentimentalist at heart, it’s amazing me to think that the same moon that greets me every night is the same moon that they longed to reach more than 100 years ago; the same sun that fills my home with natural light is the same one that beat hot on their heads as they built their prototypes hoping that this one would be “the one”.
If you have a long-lasting dream or one currently sprouting in your head, listening to others is a good way to have that dream die. Seriously, don’t listen to them. I recently started a writing business and when I started to tell people “one day, this will be my sole income”, I don’t think they took me seriously.
What I do think is that the whole “starving writer” persona that has been shoved down people’s throats is actually helping me in my career instead of hindering it. Why? It’s because after a while, the writers who allow that stereotype to be shoved down their throat eventually swallow it. This leaves more clients to the writers who refuse to say “no.”
I can’t tell you what to do with your life or anyone’s life for that matter. That’s not my job nor my responsibility. Your life is yours to lead. However, if you see a future that you want and think you may be on the wrong path to get there, that’s where this post comes in. It’s an encouragement to change your path to get you where you want to be regardless of what people say to or about you. All you have to do is ask yourself “what if”.
