"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas." -George Bernard Shaw, Renowned Irish Author, George Bernard Shaw books//
Sharing is a difficult thing for most people to do, especially if it involves something of a creative or intellectual nature. Hoarding information and ideas is one of the most negative and detrimental traits in our society. I understand why some businesses need to protect their research and development of new products, but there is a definite down side to this strategy. The world is filled with intelligent people, and together we have the ability right now to solve the majority of our problems. Intelligent people are like innovative ideas - no two are exactly the same. As Shaw states, unlike other resources, if you are willing to exchange ideas and information, they tend to multiply. This multiplication of ideas brings about innovation and solutions. The difficulty comes in finding a way to put these ideas together to get to solutions. The fact is that very few people are capable of ideating something significant and, then, developing that idea into applicable solutions without the help of others. As a result, our world continues to suffer from things like AIDS, famine, dependency on oil, pollution, war and ignorance. So, how do we reverse the current state of things? You could start by sharing your ideas at home and work, or with family and friends; start a discussion group in your local community, school or church; or, get involved with local government or volunteer organizations and share your thoughts and ideas with people in those organizations. The important thing is to start building the habit of sharing ideas with others and fighting the urge to just keep things to yourself. After all, even if you're the most intelligent person you know, there's no way that you know it all, and even "dummies" come up with good ideas every once in a while. Ideas multiply when you share them - start sharing today!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Ideas Multiply When You Share Them
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4 comments:
I've been reading your blog for a week or two now and I think this is one of my favorites!
Wow! Thanks so much for the kind words and humbling compliment! It's nice to hear that someone appreciates my thoughts.
I love that quote you have on this entry. The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people are only fueling their own greeds. Nobody is really interested in sharing what they know with others. Unless it's to show off. And that's still part of fueling greed. I agree though that it's important for us to do some sharing on our own. It's a small step and far from the scale of companies but it's still the first step.
You're right Jen. We can't control what other people or businesses do, but we can make the decision to share ourselves. Everything big starts small and builds from there. And, as Bob Moawad said, "Attitude is contagious," and so is a lot of other good things like sharing.
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