It is a peculiar habit of mankind to reject its benefactors, to stone its prophets, and to drive mad its visionaries. One might suppose that a good idea, like a well-planted seed, would take root wherever it falls. But the world is a field of salted earth, and the better the idea, the less welcome it is.
No man need fear his idea being stolen, for the world is not so eager to burden itself with new thought. The average man does not wish to be disturbed from his comfortable ignorance, nor does he relish the labor of changing his mind. An idea that is truly worthwhile is like a fire in the night—it may be seen from afar, but most will shy away rather than warm themselves by its heat.
Jesus himself remarked upon this truth, observing that a prophet is never honored in his own home. The people who watched him grow from boy to man could not reconcile their familiarity with his wisdom. “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” they asked, as if wisdom could not take root in common soil. And so it is with all who dare to present the world with something finer than it is accustomed to. The painter who sees beauty beyond his age, the scientist who harnesses forces beyond understanding, the poet who pens truth too sharp for polite ears—all are cast aside in their own time, their works dismissed or misunderstood, only to be praised when they are safely dead.
Vincent Van Gogh, in his lifetime, was regarded as little more than a lunatic with a brush. The same paintings that now command fortunes once gathered dust in his brother’s attic. Tesla, the man who could summon lightning from the sky, died penniless in a rented room while lesser men profited from his genius. There is no justice in it—only the dull law of human inertia, the world’s reluctance to look beyond its present comforts and familiar boundaries.
A truly good idea is not greeted with applause but with suspicion. It offends, it unsettles, it makes demands. It does not pander, nor does it ask permission. And because of this, it must be carried forward not by the many, but by the stubborn will of the few. Those who have seen the light must drag the world toward it, not with gentle persuasion but with force, with repetition, with an insistence that borders on madness.
Yet one must not be discouraged. If your idea is met with scorn, know that you are in fine company. If your work is ignored, it is not necessarily because it lacks merit, but because merit alone does not move men to action. If your voice is drowned in the clamor of mediocrity, take heart—it is only proof that you are saying something worth hearing.
The great mistake is to expect recognition in one’s own time. Better to labor without expectation, to plant without hope of harvest. For the best ideas, like the best men, are seldom cherished in their youth. But in time, the world turns. And what it once mocked, it will one day claim as its own.
Join us in making the world a better place – you’ll be glad that you did. Cheers friends.