LIvin the Creative Dream - Choices

Choices! Everyday we're faced with a multitude of them! Do this! Don't do that! How do you know you're making the best choices faced with so many variables? One way is to make "informed" choices based on the failures of others! One of the Twitter co-founders said something like, (I'm paraphrasing) "Spectacular successes come with spectacular failures!" So, we know the rest of the Twitter story, so this guy is probably someone I'd listen to! Another amazing story comes from our friends the Wright brothers. Yeah, the airplane guys! So, they do the absolutely remarkable thing of building and getting an airplane to actually fly, then apply for a patent on the plane. In the meantime, the success of the Wright brothers sends euphoria around the world and everyone that is now aware that flight is possible is building their own airplane. The Wright brothers, with their patent, (This would not be possible today), basically made it impossible for anyone to build another airplane! However, that didn't stop other inventors from trying. One inventor, (Glenn Curtiss) a motorcyclist and inventor, had invented an amazingly powerful motor for his motorcycles and was winning all kinds of motorcycle races. He asked the Wright brothers if they wanted to collaborate with him on building their plane utilizing one of his powerful engines. The Wright brothers patent was approved a week after they received the engine collaboration letter from Curtiss. They felt they didn't need Curtiss and declined his offer to utilize his powerful engine to power their plane. Well, you guessed it! That didn't stop Curtiss and in fact Curtiss built his own airplane inventing "ailerons" (French for "little wings") that changed the dynamic of the airplane entirely! The Wright brothers, still upset over patent infringements and wanting to keep their technology "secret" declined to participate in an event where airplane advances would be showcased. Of course, Curtiss wanted to be front and center at this event, his first chance to show the world what he created, and even after crashing his airplane while on a practice run the day before the big event, still pulled off the unthinkable! His plane flew for over a mile! He was considered the "first man of flight," leaving the Wright brothers in the dust. Okay! Bad choice by the Wright brothers! Their choice NOT to appear at the event opened the door for Curtiss - totally unopposed by any competition! It enabled Curtiss to gain a foothold in the new industry. (By the way, the Wright brothers continued with their law suits against Curtiss, until eventually the stress took over Wilbur Wright's life, and he died suddenly at age 45 due to complications of typhoid fever). So, what nuggets can we garner from the Wright brothers fiasco? Well, fear of patent infringement and "sharing their knowledge" with the world allowed someone else to step in and steal their thunder! Worse than that, Curtiss even came up with BETTER technology (the ailerons) that are still used in airplanes today! So, the moral of the story according to Allison is if someone asks you to collaborate, you might want to take a second look at the opportunity, depending on what can be gained by both parties. Secondly, fear is a powerful motivator that keeps us all on the sidelines. In the case of the Wright brothers, their fear of others stealing their technology actually kept them on the sidelines and allowed another inventor to step forward. Stress kills, and Wilbur Wright is the proof. So, "bad" choices, or choices looking back that probably weren't made for the "right" reasons. They were made out of fear. So, if you have an opportunity to collaborate with someone today, take a second look. If you have a choice today, move forward without fear. Leap and the net will appear!

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