Are you "out of your mind?" If so, congratulations!
In our popular language, being out of your mind means you are "crazy," not thinking clearly, or not being yourself. Do people ever say this to you? And if so, what is your reaction when they say it? Do you feel you have to revert back to your usual "safe" pattern, or to explain yourself? That pressure from others to be consistent with who they think we are can be a powerful force to keep us in predictable patterns.
In our society being "out of your mind" is considered "bad," but "thinking outside the box" is "good." For the most part, we like innovative ideas to solve problems, but "radical" ideas are not accepted because they disrupt our standard thinking patterns and beliefs. As long as an idea is within our existing understanding and beliefs, it’s a "good" idea. As soon as an idea challenges our way of thinking, our understanding of the world, or our belief systems, it is disturbing and uncomfortable. That’s when we say "are you out of your mind?"
A case in point is the Sony Walkman. In the late 1970’s when Honorary Chairman Masaru Ibuka first conceived of a portable, personal stereo, tape players were all large, stationary objects. Chairman Ibuka wanted to listen to music on his long plane trip to the U.S., and told the tape player engineers what he envisioned for a personal tape player. They couldn’t imagine why anyone would want such a thing, but complied with the Chairman’s request anyway (the Chairman was out of his mind). When the senior engineers realized the value of this invention, they imposed an unrealistic timeframe to develop the product (the management team was out of their minds). They knew that too much time to question the product would halt the project. When the product launched, consumers couldn’t imagine using the product and sales were slow ("Sony is out of its mind if it wants me to spend my money on such a crazy thing!"). So Sony found ways to get people to experience the personal stereo to help them understand the value. And the rest, so they say, is history. At its peak, Sony produced 150 million Walkmans per year. As popular as this invention obviously was, at least three separate times in its history people said "are you out of your mind?!" And the answer was "yes!" The Walkman challenged people’s thoughts and beliefs about listening to music. Persisting through skepticism and resistance was necessary to revolutionize an entire industry and a whole way of thinking.
What are your "out of your mind" revolutionary ideas? Just as Chairman Ibuka’s passion for music inspired him to envision a personal tape player, your passions and talents can give rise to valuable, revolutionary ideas. What unique insight do you have that can encourage us to shift our thought patterns and beliefs, and welcome something new and exciting into the world? What are some ideas or beliefs you haven’t put out in the world for fear of people asking, "are you out of your mind?" What if you viewed this just as a response to challenging someone’s thought patterns and beliefs, rather than a reflection on you personally? Would you be more likely to at least entertain those ideas and see where they might take you? The great accomplishments and contributions to the world have not come from staying safely with current thinking. Rather, they have come from people who were "out of their minds." So the next time someone asks "are you out of your mind?" you can proudly say "absolutely!"
