Stop mental mildew - NOW!

"Molds that cause mildew flourish wherever it is damp, warm, poorly lighted and/or where air is not circulated."

University of Missouri Extension Service

Some of the most common Mistakes committed by entrepreneurs are the direct result of mental mildew.  Sad, but true.  And mental mildew forms easily.  It's spores are first planted early in life, and regularly replanted, each time curiosity is stifled by some "proper" demand for dogmatic acceptance.

All brains are damp and warm - mildew heaven.  That's physiology, and there's nothing we can do about it.  But we can certainly light them up and circulate fresh air on a regular basis. 

So, you might ask, what are the most readily available sources of bright light and fresh air?  There are at least two dependable options.

First, the lunatic fringe.  That's right.  Carefully and deliberately consider the raves, rants, fashion, science, and art of the avant garde.  Explore the world of "too much."  There is a very, very fine line between goofy and prophetic.

Remember when a T-shirt under a sport jacket was really edgy?  And now it's trendy.  Older readers can remember when the Beatles were shocking.  Now they're classic.  Not that long ago viewers were amused when Star Trek characters communicated through absurdly tiny chest-mounted pins.  Now we have Bluetooth ear pods.

Pablo Picasso put it this way, "Good taste is the enemy of creativity."  Steve Jobs was even more direct.  He said, "Don't be trapped by dogma."  Dogma is an expression of certainty; and certainty, true certainty, is in very short supply.  (See Heisenberg Compensators.)

Nobel Prize winner Ilya Prigogine said this, "The future is uncertain... but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity."  The ability to deal with uncertainty, and to flourish in its presence, is one of the defining characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

Of course, it is a bit risky to drive a long way down that road.  Your traditional clients and colleagues, not to mention friends and family, will tolerate, or even enjoy, a little bit of envelope pushing.  But most of them will promptly distance themselves from an apparent nut case. 

Still, if you're going to make something important happen, you have to take the leap.  The others may just be dead wrong, or at least unfortunately ignorant.

Another piece of insight on this topic - "The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism." - Sir William Osler.  

Don't let that ignorance be yours.

The second, and most reliable, great source of bright light and fresh air to combat mental mildew is the opinion and dogma of everyone who disagrees with you.  I know.  It's hard to believe those idiots even have functioning brains, let alone some true insight.  But they might just be 100% right, and what would that make you?

So, if you nibble at the edges of the lunatic fringe and seriously consider the possibility that the idiots are right, you can probably keep mental mildew at bay.  But remember, it's insidious and persistent. And once established, it grows very quickly.

Comments

[Jim Flowers]

And it's so easy to obtain.  They shower it on you with little or no provocation.  And they never charge a consulting fee.

[Allan Tsang]

"The second, and most reliable, great source of bright light and fresh air to combat mental mildew is the opinion and dogma of everyone who disagrees with you."

Definitely good to have a healthy dose of that.

Allan