The Impractical

Hello again dear readers.

Most of my life I’ve pursued impractical projects.

For example, I instigated this bicycle route among my friends when we were about 14 years old. Up until my proposed trip (which we subsequently repeated several times), we never went further than Coney Island or Manhattan Beach (in Brooklyn, NY). Somehow I must have known about Riis Park. Either I went on a family car trip (doubtful), or maybe heard about it from a friend. In any case I convinced everyone it was a trip worth taking. We’d be riding by marshes along the Belt Parkway, where the Mafia dumped dead bodies (according to legend), and so there was an element of scariness to the trip. And crossing an actual bridge on a bicycle --- no one had done that before…

We had an amazing trip, although one kid managed to fall off of the bridge's walking / biking strip, landing on a car lane. Luckily there wasn’t a vehicle nearby at that moment.

We played miniature golf and goofed around, but the real adventure was the bike ride.

Was it out of reach? Seemingly. Was it impractical? I guess, compared to going in a car. But in the end it was super thrilling for the 6 or 7 of us who made the journey.

It takes a certain type of personality to envision a plan for the future and then convince others of its value. Part of it can be called leadership, although you can be a great leader without envisioning anything. To me the more interesting personality trait is that of the inventor or instigator. The ability to see something that others don't. And that's because so many people are ready to say no. "It can't be done." "It's too risky." "It's too far."

Fast Forward

In Bali I’ve met a number of impressive entrepreneurs through a club called the United Founders (UF).

It's not uncommon for a 30 or 40 year old UF entrepreneur to speak 4 languages and to have lived in 5 different countries before settling in Bali. In comparison I’ve never lived outside my home country before, and I rely way too much on my native language.

But the United Founders are my “tribe.” As much as I don’t like the term, they are the types of people who dragged their friends across bridges, physically or metaphorically, until the point where the horizon was a bit “out of reach.” And when their friends said no, it can't be done, they continued on their own.

Bali is a special place for the dreamers who say yes, it can happen. It's not a paradise handed to you. It's a unique place where people say, “Let's try something.” And the result is still not paradise, but a remarkable work in progress.

Later,

Neill