Comments on: Conventional Wisdom: The Ultimate Dream Killer http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/ Entrepreneurship, marketing, personal devlelopment Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:35:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Very Evolved http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9468 Very Evolved Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:12:31 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9468 I disagree with that definition of conventional wisdom. it is if you like the conventional view of what conventional wisdom is. It's not the average or distilled wisdom of the crowd. It's more about our individual assessments of how others would react. Conventional wisdom is what we think others would do in the same situations whether it actually turns out to be true or not. For example when you're choosing new clothes to buy you're assessing how much you like them but also implicitly how you <b>think</b> others will react to what you're wearing - particularly if it deviates from current fashions. The sentiment of the article is a good one though - if you're thinking about how others behave, you should also be asking yourself why you should behave that way. Patrick <a href="http://veryevolved.com/" rel="nofollow">veryevolved.com</a> I disagree with that definition of conventional wisdom. it is if you like the conventional view of what conventional wisdom is.

It’s not the average or distilled wisdom of the crowd. It’s more about our individual assessments of how others would react.
Conventional wisdom is what we think others would do in the same situations whether it actually turns out to be true or not.

For example when you’re choosing new clothes to buy you’re assessing how much you like them but also implicitly how you think others will react to what you’re wearing – particularly if it deviates from current fashions.

The sentiment of the article is a good one though – if you’re thinking about how others behave, you should also be asking yourself why you should behave that way.

Patrick
veryevolved.com

]]> By: David Burman http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9467 David Burman Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:21:25 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9467 Excellent post. People seem to be scared by seeing other people in a field they deem as more qualified and are too fearful to give it a try. I also linked your firefly manifesto to a blog i started. Its helping people cope with being unemployed in nyc (or any city) and hopefully will be a good forum for ideas and links to great sites like yours. Please take a look. http://unemployednyc.ning.com/ Thanks. Excellent post. People seem to be scared by seeing other people in a field they deem as more qualified and are too fearful to give it a try. I also linked your firefly manifesto to a blog i started. Its helping people cope with being unemployed in nyc (or any city) and hopefully will be a good forum for ideas and links to great sites like yours. Please take a look.

http://unemployednyc.ning.com/

Thanks.

]]> By: Steve Olson http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9466 Steve Olson Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:55:01 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9466 Jonathan, You're a fantastic blogger. This stuff is golden. For some of us, convention is not a choice. It is time reach out grab a hold of the future and pull it into the present. The future you want to make for yourself. Jonathan,

You’re a fantastic blogger. This stuff is golden. For some of us, convention is not a choice. It is time reach out grab a hold of the future and pull it into the present. The future you want to make for yourself.

]]> By: tannage http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9463 tannage Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:55:03 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9463 I think it's not so much conventional wisdom we should challenge, but which conventional wisdoms we should challenge. Challenging everything would be a way to get ostracised from the herd, and we will always need a herd, a clan to hang with. If all of us were truly to be ourselves, we would challenge conventional wisdom at one level or another simply because we are individuals. We would stop trying to be who society thinks we should be. From my point of view, Peter Bowerman succeeded because he was the sort of person who does succeed, rather than because he deliberately defied conventional wisdom. I think it’s not so much conventional wisdom we should challenge, but which conventional wisdoms we should challenge. Challenging everything would be a way to get ostracised from the herd, and we will always need a herd, a clan to hang with.

If all of us were truly to be ourselves, we would challenge conventional wisdom at one level or another simply because we are individuals. We would stop trying to be who society thinks we should be.

From my point of view, Peter Bowerman succeeded because he was the sort of person who does succeed, rather than because he deliberately defied conventional wisdom.

]]> By: Katie Langston - Small Business Marketing Wizard http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9465 Katie Langston - Small Business Marketing Wizard Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:39:14 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9465 Jonathan, what a great post and an important reminder. I think sometimes the path to success can be a lonely one--because the fact is, the vast majority of people are content with convention and mediocrity. You've got to be willing to fall down, to "look bad," to make mistakes in order to ultimately succeed. This is a terrific post to start the new year. Much appreciated! Jonathan, what a great post and an important reminder. I think sometimes the path to success can be a lonely one–because the fact is, the vast majority of people are content with convention and mediocrity. You’ve got to be willing to fall down, to “look bad,” to make mistakes in order to ultimately succeed. This is a terrific post to start the new year. Much appreciated!

]]> By: Ethan http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9464 Ethan Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:00:07 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9464 Convention is a way for everyone to keep everyone else in check... but the herd mentality is very hard to break free of... it's around you all the time and reinforced by the media and our educational system. I'm starting to get into all of this by buying different informational products that talk about entrepreneurship, owning your own business and using the Internet to leverage a small niche into a big one. What I continue to come back to is that everyone needs a trade... something to fall back on and that will give them the mental security that if they fail, they have a trade that will get them through. The next step in that line of thinking is figuring out how monetize that trade that you know well. I believe that as I try and monetize my trade, just the fact that I have one and will be able to go back to it should my idea fail gives me the power to move ahead... no debt and without child (wife and dog yes but junior, not yet) help too but the trade is the real safety net. Part of my process is to blog about starting the business... this isn't to drum up sales or even make a sales pitch as my product is WAY different than something to do with entrepreneurship but through blogging, this idea of "What is YOUR trade and WHY do you NEED one?", has really crystalized in my own thinking. Love the site and can't wait for the book... Ethan Convention is a way for everyone to keep everyone else in check… but the herd mentality is very hard to break free of… it’s around you all the time and reinforced by the media and our educational system.

I’m starting to get into all of this by buying different informational products that talk about entrepreneurship, owning your own business and using the Internet to leverage a small niche into a big one.

What I continue to come back to is that everyone needs a trade… something to fall back on and that will give them the mental security that if they fail, they have a trade that will get them through. The next step in that line of thinking is figuring out how monetize that trade that you know well.

I believe that as I try and monetize my trade, just the fact that I have one and will be able to go back to it should my idea fail gives me the power to move ahead… no debt and without child (wife and dog yes but junior, not yet) help too but the trade is the real safety net.

Part of my process is to blog about starting the business… this isn’t to drum up sales or even make a sales pitch as my product is WAY different than something to do with entrepreneurship but through blogging, this idea of “What is YOUR trade and WHY do you NEED one?”, has really crystalized in my own thinking.

Love the site and can’t wait for the book…

Ethan

]]> By: Andrew Galasetti http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9460 Andrew Galasetti Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:55:18 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9460 Excellent post! This is one of my favorite quotes: “…success is related to standing out, not fitting in.” – AMC’s Mad Men If you want to be successful, you need to be different; and if you want to be different, you need to be unconventional. As you said at the end of this post, conventional thought is there to stop those you don't really WANT it that much to those who NEED it. -Andrew Excellent post!

This is one of my favorite quotes:

“…success is related to standing out, not fitting in.” – AMC’s Mad Men

If you want to be successful, you need to be different; and if you want to be different, you need to be unconventional.

As you said at the end of this post, conventional thought is there to stop those you don’t really WANT it that much to those who NEED it.

-Andrew

]]> By: Joely Black (@TheCharmQuark on Twitter) http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9462 Joely Black (@TheCharmQuark on Twitter) Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:49:16 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9462 I'm a fiction writer, and for the longest time I've found the conventional wisdom isn't just "It's tough" but "Don't bother, it's impossible." It's a real struggle - but it's not the struggle people told me it would be. The struggle has been to break away from conventional wisdom, because I found amazing, surprising things happened when I ignored what other people told me was truth. I'm in the process now of working out my own truth, just as Petr Bowerman did. I’m a fiction writer, and for the longest time I’ve found the conventional wisdom isn’t just “It’s tough” but “Don’t bother, it’s impossible.” It’s a real struggle – but it’s not the struggle people told me it would be. The struggle has been to break away from conventional wisdom, because I found amazing, surprising things happened when I ignored what other people told me was truth.

I’m in the process now of working out my own truth, just as Petr Bowerman did.

]]> By: The Truth About Conventional Wisdom | Awake At The Wheel | Personal Growth | careers | entrepreneurship | health & happiness http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/conventional-wisdom-the-ultimate-dream-killer/#comment-9461 The Truth About Conventional Wisdom | Awake At The Wheel | Personal Growth | careers | entrepreneurship | health & happiness Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:11:14 +0000 http://www.careerrenegade.com/?p=553#comment-9461 [...] Head on over to read the rest. And for any with dreams of getting paid to write, you’ll also meet someone who can point the way. [...] [...] Head on over to read the rest. And for any with dreams of getting paid to write, you’ll also meet someone who can point the way. [...]

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