John Hope Bryant argues that being called nuts is a superpower for entrepreneurs. He points to Steve Jobs, Ted Turner, Bill Gates, and Martin Luther King Jr. as people once dismissed as crazy who changed the world. Real entrepreneurship requires defying the status quo and believing so hard in your mission that others catch the fever.
Good morning, Believe Nation! Today's message is: You're nuts! Over to you, John Hope Bryant.
People say I'm nuts, and that's a compliment because they said that Steve Jobs was nuts. They said that Ted Turner was nuts. They said that Bill Gates was nuts. They said that my hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., That was nuts. Let me tell you what, I'll take it.
You have to be nuts to be an entrepreneur. Think about what you're doing. You're going up, you're waking up every single day doing something that most people don't do. You're doing something that everybody wants to do, but most people don't do. You're waking up, you're trying to change the status quo. You're trying to have a meaningful impact on the world. You're trying to create something where a lot of the odds are stacked against you. You start a business knowing that 80%+ of businesses fail, and yet you are out here doing it. You're nuts. I would do more than just take it. I would do more than just accept that people will think that I'm nuts. I see it as a badge of honor. I see it as something that I'm proud of. I'm happy when somebody calls me nuts because I have the courage to go out and chase my dreams and do something that I believe in while you're too busy sitting in your office daydreaming instead of actually taking action on it. I was recently mentoring an entrepreneur about a business that I'm involved in and was talking about how this is an important business for the community, is an important business for my city and for my country and the impact that I want to have. And he said, "Do people ever look at you and say that you're a little bit nuts?" And my response was, "Yeah, all the time. I'm used to it." and I love it. And what you find that happens, if you actually believe it, if you actually believe in your vision, if you actually believe that it can come true, right? You actually believe in it, it's not just words, you feel it to your core, then over time the people around you, they will get infected with the same virus that you have. It'll be like a fever and it'll spread. And you need that ambition, you need that creativity, you need that big drive, you need that big vision If you want to attract people to a noble cause and have them motivated to want to join this crazy mission of yours. Otherwise, you have an uninspired team who is there just to collect a paycheck. So you are nuts and you should be proud of it. Believe. So the question of the day today is, I want to know who around you has called you nuts. Leave it in the comments below and I'm going to join in the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe. And I'll see you again tomorrow morning for another shot of espresso.
