Alright, so the post’s title is not the most P.C. of headlines, but it got your attention didn’t it?

Why am I talking about Hitler?
Because Hitler would not have put up with what this lady did.

While reading the story about Mrs. Fields, author of the “I Love Chocolate Cookbook”) I came across the quote of a comment from her husband, “Oh, sweetie, that is such a stupid idea.”

I am here to tell you to be like Hitler, in that he surrounded himself with geniuses. Hitler was no bright light in military planning, but allowing Rommel (the Desert Fox) to lead his troops brought many victories.

Be like Hitler in that you surround yourself with intelligent people, and people who support and nurture your creativity. If you share an idea with someone and they immediately shoot it down, walk away from them, they are likely not worth your time.

Like all World Conquerors, you need support.

People who do not support creativity and innovation will be in yesterday forever, and are not the kind of individuals a forward thinker, like you, needs to accompany.

The wrong person says: “That’s a stupid idea!”
The right person says: “That’s interesting.”

Find people who will listen to you, while also being helpful in offering devil’s-advocate like responses and reality checks when necessary.

The wrong person says: “That will never work!”
The right person says: “Can you overcome the barriers to entry?”

What if your main antagonist is your spouse/significant other?

If you are like Mrs. Fields above, and have a spouse/significant other shooting at your dreams as they fly over head, I am truly sorry. My wife often gives me the “you’re nuts” look, but has never told me an idea was stupid or that I could not accomplish a goal.

Leaving your spouse/significant other is not something I advise or advocate. However, holding your tongue around them, then sharing the creative/innovative/new/old/etc… ideas you have with the other support people in your life would be a much better idea.

You told me to find good supporters, where do I do that?

You might be able to re-train some of the naysayers in your life. More often then not people instinctively react negatively to anything new. This reaction could be what you’re experiencing. Explaining to them how their negativity hurts, and discourages you, might silence the oppression.

For the un-trainable, get away from them if you can, hold your tongue around them if you can’t, and find new people. There are 6 Billion people on this planet, you can find at least one, if not a handful, who are supportive.

Get out, talk to people. You need to be doing this anyway. The more networking you do, the better off your life will be. You can use social networking if you want; however, most of those people are going to be across the country and I prefer the face-to-face interaction of real people when I’m spewing out new ideas. You might be different. The point is, finding out what works best for you. Get started sharing your ideas and seeing who supports you. Weed out the naysayers and build up the encouragers. Then, watch how your creativity builds and your boldness grows!