Balls

“You just gotta have big balls and do it yourself.” – Judd Apatow (You Made it Weird Podcast – Artie Lange & Judd Apatow)

I’m often amazed at the audacity of anybody that undertakes a project of their own without anybody asking them to. It takes balls. Not only could the idea be absolutely horrible, which is perhaps why no one asked for it in the first place, it could eat up countless hours and effort. Effort that could have gone towards something known to be fruitful. And yet new ventures are undertaken every day, and it will continue as such until the fall of humanity. Is it our human nature that compels us to do these things? Are we inherently meant to explore everything in the world? I can’t help but feel more and more like this is the case. For the ideas that are most revered are those that are not thought of by the masses, but by some one, or small group, who thought differently than the rest, and they believed in their idea enough to bring it to reality. Kanye West’s song, “On Sight” comes to mind where he samples the Holy Name of Mary Choral Family’s “Sermon (He’ll Give Us What We Really Need).”

“He gives us what we need, it may not be what we want.”

I remember listening to that album the first time and thinking how different it sounded from everything else, and at first was not too fond of it, but after a few listens I came to appreciate it more and more, and I still finding myself listening to it years later. It certainly wasn’t what I was initially looking for in a rap album, but it was the breath of fresh air that I needed in a rap album. This, I believe, is what most successful entrepreneurs believe in, that what they can provide is what the public needs. Because the public, for the most part, only wants what is comfortable. Change is scary, therefore they cannot see much further than the norm. But those special people: Steve Jobs, Picasso, Einstein, and so many other revolutionaries, they can see what the future really is, and they are the ones who shape it. One who I am currently taken with is Elon Musk, as I am nearly half way through Ashlee Vance’s Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. Musk’s idea and persona have been scrutinized, since birth it seems, and yet he continues to move forward, and the benefactor is always humanity. He foresees what the world can be and works relentlessly towards his dreams no matter what backlash he may face. He can see through the bureaucratic processes that have plagued mankind’s progress for centuries and creates his own methods. Its inspiring, making me want to do better in my practices – I still have a ways to go as I missed writing a post last week, and am a day late on this one. But why is it that so few of us have these special talents? Is it divinity? Providence? Are these people our new age messiahs, given a message directly from the creator in order to further our species? I can’t help but deny that question when I see someone like Musk doing so much work for the betterment of mankind. For it is one thing to do something for the ego, which Musk no doubt may do, but to do things for the greater good is something else. Regardless of the reasons, Musk, and those like him, truly believe in their visions, and they’ve got the balls to make their vision a reality, for better or worse. And we should all take notice.