He stood leaning up against the wall immediately to the right of my college classroom door with his backpack slung over one shoulder and sporting his superfly shell toe Adidas with no laces. I recognized him from my class...I had spotted those Adidas on the very first day because there were not too many hardcore Run DMC fans other than me running around UC Davis in the mid to late 80’s. I gave him the obligatory nod and camped out directly across the hallway from him and dropped my backpack to the floor. It was odd that the door was closed; every other time the door was propped open and we all just walked in.

Soon a few other students started to gather outside in the hallway. Eventually, 10-15 of us were just milling around, chatting, or holding the wall up. It didn’t take long for the age-old conversation to start to rattle around the group: exactly how long do you have to stay before you can just leave if the professor is late? Some weighed in with 10 minutes...others were sure it was 15 or 20. A few emphatically said it was an urban myth (They were right, by the way! Don’t @ me)

And that’s when it happened…

A student with headphones came down the hall, oblivious to the debate...and the world, walked through the crowd, reached down and grabbed the doorknob, opened the freaking door, and walked right in letting the door swing shut behind him. 

Stone. Cold. Silence. 

WTF!

Sheepishly, the rest of us followed into the room where the professor was busily writing notes and a chart on the whiteboard and, lo and behold, we had class. I glanced over at Mr. Adidas and he just shrugged like...my bad.

He arrived and saw the door closed when it was usually open and just never tried it. I came next and saw him standing there and just assumed he had. And then the third...the fourth...the fifth...who wants to be that sixth person who passes five standing at the door and foolishly turns the knob only to also find it locked and be sneered at by the rest. By the time you hit 10 there ain’t no chance somebody is going to turn it. 

Groupthink is powerful! 

How many times do people say to themselves: 

“If it were really possible, wouldn’t someone here have done it before?” 

“I’m sure someone has tried this before and it must not have worked out or they would still be doing it.”

“I bet someone has asked permission to do that a thousand times before me.”

The groupthink mentality makes it increasingly likely that the status quo will be maintained. Comfortable conformity can only be crushed with courage. Or, sometimes, just someone crazy enough to not care what everybody else is doing or what they think. 

Steve Jobs put it this way:

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

I remember talking an author off the ledge once when he released his book title to a voxer group of trusted supporters and asked for feedback. It was all over the map. Most of it negative. It shook his confidence. It had him twisting in the wind since he had been branding around the title for YEARS. I called him and basically said, “Hey. Public opinion polls may be good for some things...but not this. If you let a group of people who are not as committed to your vision as you are determine your brand, you are going to lose. You can’t let groupthink turn your brand into something flavorless enough that it will please everyone.” 

What do you think would have happened if I put out a poll about whether I should call my book Teach Like a Pirate? 

Probably this: “Pirate? What does that even mean? What does that have to do with teaching? Nobody will even understand what it means when they see it and won’t buy it. Pirates are criminals. That sounds too cheesy. Etc etc etc.” (Ask me about some of what I have heard along the way...even this year)  All wrong. I knew it would work. I believed in it. And, we are about to hit half a million copies of it sold...from our house. 

Oh! That book and author? I’m super glad that Matt Miller had the personal power, strength of character, and intestinal fortitude to stick by his instincts and brand and bring Ditch That Textbook to the world! 

What changes do you want to make in your system? 

What dreams are you on fire about pursuing in your life? 

What goals do you have that everyone around you tells you are impossible? 

What challenges and obstacles have you not confronted because you’ve seen others unwilling to tackle them in the past? 

What new ideas do you have that could change the world...or maybe your small corner of it?

Are you letting the compliant crowd deter you from doing the work you know matters most? 

Are you going to let bystanders and critics decide your future? 

Are you like the worst of politicians who don’t decide their beliefs on principles but rather on polls?

Or, are you going to make a ruckus? Ruffle some feathers. Take a leap. “Cannonball in,” as Tara Martin would say. 

How many “doors of opportunity” have you left unopened because nobody else before you had the guts to turn the knob? 

Maybe it’s time to put your metaphorical headphones on to drown out the crowd noise and allow you to fully focus on fulfilling the future that YOU want to bring to fruition. 

Pass by the posers. Grasp it. Turn it. Open it. Walk in. You’ll find most doors are open to you if you have the guts to try them. 

One more thing: If the knob won’t turn, somebody out there has the key...go find them. If you can’t, and what is on the other side is worth it...feel free to KNOCK IT DOWN.

Thanks,

Dave