AVOIDING HERD
MENTALITY
The message in this
devotional is so strategic and mission critical that I feel strongly impressed
to reprise it, for the third time I believe.
Please prayerfully ponder.
In an age that is
given to political correctness, it is rather tempting to follow the pack.
That is, many of us tend to buy into the opinions or dictates of the MAJORITY,
as if GOD has not imparted any unique wisdom or capabilities within our own
hearts and minds.
Nevertheless, it
has been proven over time that the majority is not always right. What if
Joshua and Caleb seriously ‘read’ and considered THE MAJORITY REPORT? The
Israelites would have been deprived of sufficient vision and courage to forever
possess their PROMISED LAND.
(Numbers 13:1-3;17-33) While we do not advocate a spirit of stubbornness
or rebellion, it is advantageous and wise to take a serious look at what Robert
Frost called, “The Road Less Traveled,” and to thereby avoid blindly adopting ‘pack
mentality.’
Consider the lack
of wisdom in the following viewpoints, that were once confidently embraced by
corporations and individuals who, in hindsight, we think would have (or should
have) known better:
“I think there is a
worldwide market for maybe five computers.”
– Thomas Watson,
chairman of IBM, 1943.
“There is no reason
anyone would want a computer in their home.”
– Ken Olson,
president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
“The telephone has
too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.
This device is inherently of no value to us.”
– An internal memo
of Western Union, 1876.
“The concept is
interesting and well-formed, but to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be
feasible.”
– A Yale University
management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable
overnight delivery service. Smith ignored this criticism and went on to
found Federal Express.
“Who in the world
wants to hear actors talk?”
– H. M. Warner,
Warner Brothers, 1927 (in the age of silent movies).
“I’m just glad
it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper.”
– Gary Cooper on
his decision not to take the leading role in the classic movie, “Gone with the
Wind.”
“We don’t like
their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.”
– Decca Recording
Company rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
“Heavier-than-air
flying machines are impossible.”
– Lord Kelvin,
president, Royal Society, 1895.
“So, we went to
Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of
your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to
you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come and work for
you.’ They said, ‘No.’ So, then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and
they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t even gotten through
college yet.'”
– Steve Jobs, Apple
Computer founder, on the attempts to get Atari and H.P. interested in his
computer.
“Drill for oil?
You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy!”
– People who Edwin
L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil (the first to do so)
in 1859.
“Stocks have
reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”
– Irving Fisher,
Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
“Everything that
can be invented has already been invented.”
– Charles H. Duell,
Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
“X-rays will prove
to be a hoax.”
– Lord Kelvin,
President of the Royal Society, 1893.
“It’s unworthy of
the attention of practical and scientific men.”
– British
Parliamentary Committee’s report on Thomas Edison’s electric light bulb
invention.
Totally fascinating,
isn’t it? According to King Solomon, GOD is the giver of “witty inventions.”
(Proverbs 8:12) Therefore, my friends, we resolve to never get stuck in stinkin’ thinkin’ or to become discouraged
about any of our ideas, plans, attempts, or failures in either our present or our
past. We are and forever shall be WINNER-BELIEVERS. We are and forever
shall be doers. We are and forever
shall be world-changers.
never
give up.
PERSEVERE.
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