Crazy Enough

Are you crazy enough?

Fall fast. Fall hard. Fall forward. A TED Talk fellow visits Manila. These are (among others) her wise words.

by Nickky Faustine De Guzman
October 17, 2014

Share this:

The Millennial heart has big ideas, big ideals, whether in fashion, music, education, film, or whatever world kids wish to venture on. In Steve Jobs’ words, “And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

In this mad world, new ideas are generated every day, every minute, every second. The next thing you know #normcore is out and in with…who knows?

 

At the recently concluded first symposium of the Ayala Mall Idea’Yala youth summit, where students and young professionals can have a roadmap on how to help the community, guest speaker Juliette LaMontagne inspires her audience on the theme: “Making Your Innovations Relevant for Today’s Generation.”  Juliette, by the way, is a TED Talk fellow and founder of Project Breaker, a New York-based organization that encourages thinking out of the box and learning outside the premises of school.

For her, innovation starts with empathy, or the ability to say to a friend or someone, “Yes, I so feel you.” In How to Kill a Mocking Bird, Atticus Finch says empathy is the opportunity to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. But what about empathy? Juliette says it’s the drive to your innovation, it’s the soul to your idea. After all, whose needs are you trying to solve anyway?

GOT IDEA? Idea’Yala speakers Juliette LaMontagne, graphic artist Dan Matutina, Idea’Yala co-founder Paloma Zobel, and DJ Katrina Razon.

In Project Breaker, the members are taught that every idea has to undergo three important things: Desirability (Does your innovation mean a real human need?), Feasibility (Can it be built now?), and Viability (Is someone willing to pay for it?).

Everyone at Project Breaker is an iconoclast. “In our world of education today, we’ve lost the sight of learning,” says Juliette. “Education is about following the bell system, carrying heavy books, memorizing…or not. The truth is there’s a disconnect in school and what the world demands.”

Juliette emphasizes the value of thinking out of the box and educating beyond the premises of school. After all, she says, learning can be in the service of solving real world problems (and not merely finding that elusive X in your formula) by connecting school with the industry, with the real needs of the people and the community.

“Seize every opportunity and lean in to it. We teach the value of failing forward. See every failure as an opportunity to learn. Fail fast. Fail often,” she says.

And here is something worth pondering on (whether you agree with her or not, you decide). Juliette says: “So often young people are told to follow their passion. But I would like to disabuse you of this idea. In fact, I don’t think you should follow your passion. I think, if you are engaged in solving a real world problem, which you feel you can have an impact on, you will be passionate.”

Idea Springboard
Thinking of inventing an environment-friendly bag that automatically liquefies plastic? Or maybe some sort of machine that sucks up greenhouse gases from the atmosphere? Here are answers that might inspire you to start that project. Juliette LaMontagne answers what young innovators are itching to ask.

Can you design something without imitating?
All artists steal. That’s part of adaptation. I strongly encourage it. But you can be original with your own flair.

How can one extract his or her creative juices?
Follow a process, brainstorm, listen, research. Sometimes it’s not as systematic. The greater the number of inputs, the greater the number of outputs, which is to say, be a sponge, soak up everything. Take risks and think out of the box.

How do you make your innovation stand out in a sea of other similar ideas?
A lot of people have the same idea but others can execute it better. Just try it out!

How do you know if the world is ready for your innovation?
It involves gut feel. If you’ve waited until your idea is ready, you’ve waited too long. Whether it’s a piece of cardboard with a drawing on it, it doesn’t matter. What you’re doing is testing assumptions and continually improving on the idea. It’s like a dialogue. You start with a seedling of idea.