Earlier this year I said goodbye to an organization I put a lot of time and effort into. At the time my mind was focused on the frustration of seemingly no one striving for excellence. Steve Jobs once said, “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” To make matters worse it was my observation that not many knew what was expected never mind knew what excellence looked like.
Yet, maybe the problem was not a lack of excellence. Maybe the problem was growing up where people forgot you could eat impossible for breakfast. A place where the future is defined by the past. A place where, “No, change takes time.” A place where, “No, you can’t go that.” A place where, “No, we don’t want to go there.” A place where, “No, we can never compete with the money they have.” A place where, “No, that does not work in a not for profit.” A place where, “No, this is not a business.”
When a place like this collides with the anomaly that says something different a choice of paths open up. Perhaps some might respond to see that “impossible” really means “I’m Possible.” Or maybe the anomaly gets eaten for breakfast instead by succumbing to the incredible static friction that a lack of movement instills. Or maybe it is just time to go. To go and find a place where your soul can soar and be pulled by others instead of being pushed back. A place where people forgot to grow up and actually look for the impossible to happen.
Striving for excellence is great, but not if you are just trying to do the wrong things well. Dare to think of a new level of excellence where all the rules are broken. Apple changed the world because it created products we did not even know we wanted. Maybe not all of us can put a ding in the universe like Steve Jobs. Ah, but then again, bet me I can’t and see what happens. You just might make yo mamma happy that she changed the world by bringing you into being.
Enjoy the video below. The performance was captured at the XPrize Radical Benefit for Humanity event on October 20, 2011 and it inspired this post.
