been working on a little something 🙂 here’s part of what we were working on while we were in Seattle. Now why the heck was I in Seattle? Well we went there to answer the driving question of “ how does it take a crazy person to change the world?”. And it’s not an easy question to answer. Especially when you’re trying to write a thesis while the anticipation of being able to go swimming is waiting for you. Here’s what I came up with.

The crazy people who change the world are those who act on things important to them despite the potential failures

Bill gates is someone we very commonly think of as “crazy. From being one of the founders of Microsoft to his invention of the Janicki omniprocessor. From creating a positive impact on the world to crafting some of the most advanced gaming technology we have, he is no stranger to acting on the things important to him. He has moved from computers to more environmental aspects of technology. Starting more with energy conservation, as he moved from working head at Microsoft to moving to his own journey, he has started to act on a day to day basis for climate awareness. He has a blog called Gates Notes, sharing what people around the world are doing to help the climate. He could be doing a lot right now as one of the richest people in the world, yet he chooses to focus on something near to his heart through the Bill and Melinda gates foundation.

Inside the bill and Melinda gates foundation

Ever heard of a zero emissions arena? Most people haven’t. But nestled within the city of Seattle is an arena called the Climate Pledge Arena. With the goal of having zero emmissions and a team of staff there who are all passionate, the risk was big and the reward is great. Jeff Besos named it the Climate Pledge Arena so it could be a regular reminder of the urgent need for climate action. He could have named it the Amazon arena, given himself more exposure, but instead he chose to inspire. The goal f a zero emissions arena was one that could supposedly not be successful, but climate pledge uses creative and impactful solutions. They divert 94% of waste produced from each event, their rink is made from rain water, and their food is all produced within a 300 mile radius of the arena. As our tour guide said, “climate pledge arena shows that you need to tackle problems head on so we can create the future we want”. It is the idea of taking that risk for a better world that stuck with all of us leaving the arena and is now sticking with us as we live our lives.

Climate pledge arena’s hockey rink is made with soy based paint and the ice is made using a rainwater collection system.

You’ve heard of the Wright Brothers. Those guys who created planes. But behind those plane designs was something else. A desire to improve, create something they could be proud of, and the lack of care for faliures. They saw a need in the world for something and produced it. They spent the rest of their careers defending their patent of the first aeroplane. But despite not creating anything other than that first plane, their passion to create something that was needed at the time, and the fact that they created an aeroplane was seen as ridiculous and unnecessary to the US government. Luckily some European countries thought the idea was brilliant. Many planes after that were the base ground for air transport today. Some of the first air hostesses were origionally planning on becoming pilots. But this is where acting on something important to you can take a slight turn. They had to settle for serving passengers coffe and making sure they had everything they wanted. The women took the risk to share their desires and tried to act on their passion, but got put into a second place position, settling for the minimum.

But what ties all of these people together as crazy? The fact that all of these people saw a need in the world for something and tried to solve it. We all might see a need for something in the world that we find important to us. But that idea stays an idea. It doesn’t reach into the physical world, and won’t show everyone that we care about it. Being aware of the potential failures and acting anyways is something I do often. Weather it be standing up for someone, expressing my ideas, or even taking small risks is something I strive to do. We act on things important to us. It’s in our programming. But first we need to access that part. Then, and only then do we unlock the possibility to become crazy enough to change the world.

 

Check back in a few weeks. There will be much more about the crazy ones.
did someone say crazy?
crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a room. A rubber room. A rubber room with rats. And the rats make me crazy.
bye 🙂