Crazy does not mean dumb.

Have you ever been called crazy? Have you ever had an idea that was so far out there, people thought you had lost your mind? Have you ever wanted to shake things up and try something that had never been done before, or put a new spin on the same old song and dance? Have you wanted to be the one that helps other’s when no one else will? I am taking about the positive sense of the word crazy. I have blogged about the fact, that if no one has called you crazy you are not trying hard enough.

So let’s think about crazy. Maybe you want to build your own airplane, or maybe you want to walk on the moon, or maybe you want to escape bondage and then help others do the same. People may call you crazy. I am sure they will, but will you let that stop you?

I am sure they called Neil Armstrong crazy. I am sure they called the Wright Brothers Crazy. I am sure they called Harriet Tubman crazy. Who are they anyway? Don’t listen to them. Listen to that little voice inside of you that tells you that you can do it, listen when it means helping others and helping change the world for the better. Crazy does not mean dumb; crazy means you may change the world one day.

I am sure that as a kid Neil Armstrong told people he was going to walk on the moon one day. I am sure that people called him crazy. Many people had tried to reach the moon and failed. Little by little, more and more was learned from each failure, until one day there was successful space launches and then the first successful trip to the moon, and even more remarkably a successful return trip to earth to go with it. How many people still think that man has never been to the moon? That is crazy! Crazy does not mean dumb, crazy means you may walk on the moon one day!

And before we went to the moon, we had to learn to fly. For many, many years people have dreamed of flying. I am sure many people had tried many times to invent flying machines. Before the Wright Brothers, people used Hot Air Balloons and Gliders; but to be the first to build an Airplane, I am sure that meant people called them crazy all the time. I am sure they tried and they failed, and with each failure they learned. Can you imagine a world without airplanes now? Because of the Wright Brothers and all the crazy people who came before them the modern economy depends on air travel with thousands of airplanes taking off and landing safely every day. I have been half way around the world twice thanks to air travel and I know people who are afraid to fly, I think that is crazy! Crazy does not mean dumb, crazy means you may learn to fly one day!

So maybe your dreams are not about walking on the moon, or flying in an airplane. Maybe you dream of freedom. Maybe you dream of freedom from bills or freedom from bondage. Many people once they are free vow to never return to from which they came. Imagine if your life was in danger, and you went back to the land where you were held captive. Harriet Tubman not only escaped slavery, but made 13 return trips to help others escape bondage. Now you want to talk about being called crazy. What do you think they told her when after she escaped slavery she told people she was going back to lead others to freedom? This time failure was not something you could learn from, in this case failure meant return to bondage if not the difference between life and death.  Harriet Tubman was part of a network of people who risked their lives to help others. Crazy does not mean dumb, crazy means you might help others escape bondage if you have the guts.

So if everyone is calling you crazy, don’t listen to them. Listen to the people who will actually help you win your freedom; listen to those who will help you fly. Listen to those people who will help you land on the moon and then get home safely. Listening to people who will not help you is crazy. Neil Armstrong, The Wright Brothers and Harriet Tubman were all called crazy in their time, I am sure of it. Now we call them heroes! I can’t imagine living in the world without their accomplishments, but the work is not done. We still need crazy people to stand up and chase their dreams and help each other change the world, for the better! Crazy does not mean dumb, crazy means do the work and miracles might happen.

Neil Armstrong: Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon.

The Wright Brothers: The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who are credited[1][2][3] with inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight

Harriet Tubman: Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c. 1822 – March 10, 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made about thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved family and friends,[1] using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled for women’s suffrage.