Crazy or Stupid

There is a BIG - and important - difference

Some days it seems we have an overabundance of stupid in the world. But we seldom ask whether we have enough crazy.

During my expedition to Tuktoyaktuk, I received quite a bit of social commentary suggesting that what I was doing was stupid.

You know: a 58-year-old British sports car. 15,000 km to the Arctic and back. What could possibly go wrong?  So, let’s unpack this.

Stupid - Showing a lack of good judgment, understanding, or intelligent thought.

• Lack of good judgment? I’ve owned the car for 54 years. I know it very well.
• Lack of understanding? Six months of research.
• Lack of intelligent thought? Rigorous planning, route mapping, vehicle preparation, spare parts and contingency plans.
• So, perhaps not too stupid.

Crazy - Extremely unreasonable, irrational, reckless, or far outside what would normally be considered sensible.

• Sitting in a car for 23 days, driving to the Arctic and back?  Unreasonable — check.
• Wanting to do it in the first place?  Irrational — check.
• Knowing that it might not end well, and doing it anyway?  Reckless — check.
• Far outside what most people would consider normal?  Double check.

So, absolutely crazy.  And I’m quite comfortable with that.

All my life, I have worked hard not to be normal. I want to live somewhere near the edge of adventure and discovery. I want to do things that are “far outside what would normally be considered sensible.”

Because that’s where the magic happens.

It’s where someone dares to suggest the Earth is round.

Where someone decides human beings can walk on the Moon.

Where punk rock gets created.

And where Andrew gets to swim in the Arctic Ocean.

Almost everything genuinely new begins, at some point, with an idea that reasonable people think is unreasonable.And that applies in business as much as it does in life.

Whether you are an employee, an owner, a CEO, or a parent, there are times when being sensible is exactly the right thing to do.

And there are times when sensible is just another word for staying where you are.  So:

• Dare to explore the unreasonable.
• Dare to challenge what everyone else accepts as normal.
• Dare, occasionally, to be reckless enough to try something when success is far from guaranteed.
• Dare to be crazy my friends

See you down the road,

Andrew

PS. A lot of people told me the expedition was sure to fail. I sometimes wonder how much of that was really about the odds of my succeeding — and how much was about justifying their own decision to stay safely inside normal.

PPS. You can hear the interview with CBC on the trip here with the excellent interviewer Alan Neal.