I’m sitting at a coffee shop, laptop in front of me, warm coffee to my left and a notebook to the right. As I sit here optimizing solutions, creating, sharing, consulting, coaching, building, I’m met with a strong feeling of Innovation. Am I innovating? No, not directly. However, as I look around I see a series of multiple events play out in my mind:
A tech visionary saw a world in which everyone would have a computer in their house, and this computer would empower the individual to compete with Big Brother.
A traveler seeking community walked the streets in Italy and was captivated by the culture in which coffee offered. He then created an industry-leading coffee shop, which allowed people to come together to ‘grab a coffee’ and talk.
A group seeking enhanced communication and expanding our options at that time. Slow as it may have been, hearing the sound of connectivity was a precursor to the infamous “you’ve got mail” that was still exponentially faster than sending a postcard to a relative across the country.
I arrived here in an affordable automobile that was secondary to the amazing work of an early thought leader in the automobile industry. This ultimately led him to create a lean process that equated to a decrease in auto costs, which was handed over to the consumer.
Understanding that there are many more factors involved, I believe these large concepts are enough to get the point across.
Here I am, building a business on my MacBook, relying on my mobile phone to not only call/text potential resources within this process, but also available at a moment’s notice if needed by family. (my daughter called in the middle of writing this blog to request a pickup secondary to feeling ill on said mobile phone). Sitting at a coffee shop that has free WiFi for me to connect to, with my car in the parking lot between the automobiles of the other customers. Seth Godin calls what I’m about to say The Practice, and it is about disassociating yourself from the outcome and focusing on the process.
These prior Innovators did not come up with their ideas on their own. Instead, they left their mind open to the possibility- the possibility of a world that offers connectivity, a world that offers community, a world of inclusion, and a world built upon previous ideas. Each idea, whether directly or indirectly, feeds upon the previous idea.
These Innovators give us permission to see our own possibilities. Permission to take our experiences and see how they play into the world we interact in. Permission to dream. Permission to say yes and figure it out. Permission to build. Permission to create. Permission to lead. Permission to step outside of social/cultural norms. Permission to, well, Innovate.
As I sit here, drinking my coffee, working on my next strategic business move, I’m so humbled and grateful to be surrounded by the frequency of those Innovators that have gone before me and have offered me permission to change the world by changing my world.
Let's offer this possibility of Permissive Change to everyone we connect with.
Be Well. Be Love.
Eric
Comments