Wednesday, November 18, 2009

And You Think You've Got Problems?



People working in the idea business know coming up with ideas is not the hardest part of the job.


There are two things much more difficult than coming up with new ideas.

The first is recognizing a great idea.

The second is realizing it.

At Lateral we put a lot of energy in realizing new ideas.

But we know we have never worked as hard at making an idea come true as William Kamkwamba.

William was born in Africa. And after seeing a windmill which generated electric power one day, he wanted to build one.

He did not know anyone who could teach him.

He had no Internet to look for tips & instructions .

In fact, when he first saw a computer and the internet years after he built his wind turbine, he went nuts because it could have saved him years of trying.

Not only did he not have any help, people in his African village made fun of him.

But William did not give up. He built his wind turbine and taught others in Africa to build one as well.

He also taught people to teach other people so the knowledge would spread faster.

Next time you have a great idea and find it hard to realize it because of your busy schedule, a skeptic boss or a tight budget, compare the obstacles in your way to those of William Kamkwamba.

He didn’t give up, and neither should you.




(If you want to read William Kamkwamba's fulll story order his book at http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind-Electricity/dp/0061730327 )

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