The Unreasonable Edge

My favorite brilliant, slightly crazy poet, George Bernard Shaw, once wrote:

“The reasonable person adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable person.”

That line has never felt more relevant.

We live in a time when change moves so fast that “reasonable” thinking can quietly become outdated thinking.

Consider this:

Reasonable: Stick to the plan.Unreasonable: Change the plan before the world forces you to.

Reasonable: Stop while you’re ahead.Unreasonable: Ahead isn’t far enough—stop only when you reach the edge.

Reasonable: Release when the market is ready.Unreasonable: Release when the energy is hot.

Reasonable: Improve gradually.Unreasonable: Leap.

Reasonable: Ask for too much and you might lose the deal.Unreasonable: Ask for what your vision deserves. Boldness opens doors; fear closes them.

Important because reasonable is safe. Unreasonable changes the world. Maybe the real strategy isn’t being reasonable. Maybe it’s knowing when not to be.

“In the beginning, everything I ever did, said, or suggested, I was told I was being unreasonable. But none of it seemed unreasonable to me.” —John Lennon