Innovate by Breaking Free from Chains

The Human Brain generate all the ideas that surf in our heads, and the way we used to develop those ideas before living in a technological society, was much complicated than today. The “Will” to innovate nowadays is the key factor that determines our progress, so if you have the will and the right tools, your innovations will witness success but if you don’t have the will, your innovations wouldn’t prosper.

Innovation, Passion, and Confidence are important attributes for one to be successful. To achieve these attributes, one needs to find what they are interested in and never give up till they reach their dreams. To progress sometimes rules have to be challenged. You cannot innovate unless you do something, which hasn’t been already done. Know the rules then break some.

If you don’t break the rules then the rules will break you. We should go beyond limits to achieve things. In order to break, learn to mimic what already exists, than go deeper and create your own style through more learning. And only than break the rules! This is a natural evolution of knowledge. To uncover the unknown unknown.

To break the rules, you must first master them

-Audemar Piquet

In order to innovate one must not always go by the rule. Flexibility is the key. If you believe yourself to be a pioneer in your field, you should be the one setting the rules. The existing rules are a set barrier for one to cross in order to show others what possibilities are there to achieve when done with a free spirit. We are our own worst enemies. It is the way we are brought up, to be law abiding, stiff upper lip and all that. Eh What. That needs to change and it looks like it is doing so.

Related: Persuading People

Don’t forget, rules are made to make things simple but they can have great impact further on in history. The reason cars drive on the left in England stems back all the way to medieval times. Knights had right of passage , and they fought with their right arm (swordhand) so it made sense to ride left… Open up to innovation and then rules become irrelevant.

Today we make earth shattering  allow their employees to act agile and innovative. And, those who do not obey to the rules, are stigmatized and kicked out. But, these companies pay their dues one day - e.g. see Kodak, Blockbuster, Sears, PanAm etc. Rules are for masses to do routine steps for results. Innovators innovate new approaches by hating or questioning rules and results. As the great musician Frank Zappa pointed out: learn the rules, so you will know how to break them (to create original). It is interesting to consider the extent society tolerates that laws must be broken to drive change. Regulation lags innovation.

Innovate by doing Risk Management:

Risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The people who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing, are nothing. They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free:

• To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
• To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
• To reach for another is to risk involvement.
• To expose your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
• To love is to risk not being loved in return.
• To live is to risk dying.
• To believe is to risk despair.
• To try is to risk failure.

Organisations that don’t want to change or have new ideas coming in will not threat lightly on those breaking rules. Many of the rules broken by innovators will have been proposed by entrenched competitors and their lackey politicians. Take patent laws for example, most people pretend they create an environment that encourages innovation when they actually suppress innovation.

Some time rules are important otherwise it may lead to severe hazard. For that rules are only guidelines, general suggestions. All the interest of being a trailblazer is that you don’t have to break rules where they haven’t been written yet! So you don’t have always to break rules. You can also Begin, Continue, Improve, Evolve, or simply finish. Let’s break the rules and learn from them!