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title: Innovation is about everyone agreeing with you later
modified: 2026-06-15
tags: []
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> “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.” — Larry Page

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# The Paradox of Innovation

> “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” — Bertrand Russell

> “To be great is to be misunderstood.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your success in life is proportional to your willingness to be **misunderstood for long periods of time**. Real innovation is about everyone agreeing with you… _later_. If everyone agrees with you, you’re not truly innovating — you’re conforming.

> “Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

Dance to your music. Let everyone join in later.

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True innovation is generally met with **misunderstanding** and **ridicule** — not applause. This is not a bug; it’s a feature. If an idea is genuinely novel, by definition no existing framework can fully accommodate it. The resistance you feel is **evidence of originality**, not a signal to stop.

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Innovation needs [failures](failing-forward-turns-setbacks-into-stepping-stones.md) — they are the tuition you pay for learning what works.

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[The Innovator’s DNA](https://hbr.org/2009/12/the-innovators-dna)

1. 質疑
2. 觀察
3. 實驗
4. 建立人脈
5. ⭐️ 聯想 - 探索互不相干的新事物
	1. [Pierre Omidyar](https://www.google.com/search?q=Pierre+Omidyar) - eBay
		1. He failed to buy shares in a hot tech company’s IPO, fueling a desire to build **fairer, more efficient markets**
		2. His fiancée wanted a hard-to-find mint tin candy box
		3. Local classified ads were terrible at matching niche buyers with sellers
	2. [Steve Jobs](https://www.google.com/search?q=Steve+Jobs) - Apple
		1. **Calligraphy (鑽研書法)**
		2. **Meditation in an Indian ashram (印度教僧院打坐)**
		3. **Mercedes-Benz craftsmanship (研究賓士汽車工藝)**

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[The Long Nose of Innovation](https://sketchplanations.com/the-long-nose-of-innovation)