A Brick by Brick Bridge of Possibilities
The next time someone insists that your crazy, off-the-wall, BIG hairy, audacious idea is impossible, you might want to look them square in the eye and say:
“Let me tell you a story about Bob and his antique bridge in the middle of the desert…”.
In the mid-sixties when America was pulling itself apart at the height of the Vietnam War, Bob wanted to do something BIG to pull together a small, sleepy town of less than 500 people. He knew he needed to shake things up, but how do you make a splash in the middle of a desert? Thinking BIG wasn’t new to Bob. He earned his eccentric billionaire status by making a fortune in outboard motors and chainsaws, claiming - with a wink in his eye - that he owed much of his business success to booze and broads.
In 1963, on the steps of an Arizona courthouse, the happily married father of four and grandfather of six, handed over a check to buy 26 square miles of barren desert - the largest single tract of land ever sold in the state at that time. Five years later, Bob made even more people laugh when he forked over a sum of $2.4 million dollars for the world’s BIGGEST antique. The critics had a field day, telling Bob repeatedly that he was a fool who possessed more money than brains, that his harebrained scheme would never work. But, when most townsfolk thought he was three bricks shy of a load, Bob was supremely confident he knew something they didn’t.
He knew NEVER to listen to those who possess more opinions than courage.
And that’s what kept Bob McCulloch going in his quixotic quest for what became one of America’s most incredible, improbable, against-all-odds stories of community reinvention. A person would have to be half mad and more than a little crazy from the heat to think they could buy historic London Bridge, have it disassembled, shipped all the way from jolly old England and rebuilt in the middle of the arid Arizona desert.
If you have a vision for BIG ideas and would like to see how A Brick-By-Brick Bridge of Possibilities can change the world around you, hop into our boat on Lake Havasu for the full story on The Reinvention Chronicles.
"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd" MIGUEL de CERVANTES
p.s… Have you ever fallen into the trap of hanging around folks who are super quick to offer their opinions on business or life, but have no actual, first-hand experience to base it on? When you do meet that person who has that experience, chances are they took a chance somewhere along the line, demonstrating the guts to back their words with actions.
Where else have you seen this dynamic unfold before your very eyes? What are some of the best examples of so-called “impossible”, never-going-to-happen BIG ideas that you’ve ever heard of and actually see come to life? Examples that you know for a fact that the founder(s) was ridiculed and tarred and feathered with the “crazy” brush for even suggesting such an outlandish project?
Bob McCulloch's story of the London Bridge is not unique in that sense. I’m willing to bet that in each and every case – from Walt Disney to Roy H. Williams – the person who came up with the BIG idea never paid much attention to those who carried more opinions in their conversational knapsacks than courage. One of the best examples of this phenomenon happened in 2006 when visiting Austin, TX and discovering what Roy and his wife Pennie brought to life with the construction of Chapel Dulcinea.
Call them crazy, but Roy and Pennie imagined a special place where couples all over the world could get married without having to charge them a dime. Word got out and now more than a thousand wedding ceremonies are conducted each year at the breath-taking venue known as Chapel Dulcinea.
Planning a Speaking Event?
As the wheels of business turn faster each quarter, your company or industry association may be making plans to stay ahead of the über-fast relevance curve. In that spirit, we are now booking events for 2019 with organizations eager to dramatically rock their next conference with keynotes and workshops that inspire audiences to achieve a new level of “STADIUM-SIZED PERSPECTIVE”. For booking inquiries, please contact us.
Buckle Up. Start Your Imagination Engine!
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Other Resources for You to Explore:
Purchase the critically-acclaimed, NUTS, BOLTS AND A FEW LOOSE SCREWS. Available at Chapters.ca and Amazon.com.
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"Everything you can imagine is real" PABLO PICASSO