Deep Calls to Deep
by David Mercer
DREAMERS
They were annoying. They were weird.
But they changed the world
He was more than bright, and he assumed he would grow up to be successful. But he didn’t want to pay his dues or his respects. He was smarter than his teachers. He knew it and he made sure they knew it, too.
They thought he was lazy. In college he often skipped class because he was bored. He was obnoxious when he challenged his teachers, so while he may have been the brightest, he didn’t make the best grades.
He wanted to get his Ph.D., but for years he couldn’t find a professor who would work with him—he had offended them all. He couldn’t get a job, either—no one would recommend him. Finally, he got a job in a little office where he stayed by himself, studying diagrams of others’ inventions and processing their claims for patents. He was so capable, he did the work quickly and he was left with only his thoughts.
Those thoughts changed the world.
During his time of exile in a back office, he wrote a series of papers that upended how scientists saw the universe. He is now famous for his work in quantum physics and his theory of relativity. His name was Albert Einstein.
Einstein reminds me of one of his ancestors referred to in the Bible. He too, was brilliant and capable. When he was young, Joseph, like Einstein, alienated those around him. They dismissed him as a lazy dreamer.
Joseph found himself thrown into slavery and then into prison. But while he was in prison, he did some of his finest work which eventually got him noticed. He went on to become the second-in-command of the Egyptian nation. He guided the country to prosperity and kept it secure during a seven year famine.
It’s difficult to tease out a moral when we look at people like Joseph and Einstein. I could make the point that no matter how smart and talented we are, we still have to pay our dues and show respect. No one is exempt.
On the other hand, there’s a lot to be said for refusing the confines of convention. If these men had been reticent, and unwilling to take risks, would they have risen to greatness? Was it not their restlessness and impatience that led them to do marvelous things?
To be outstanding, a person has to stand out.
Finally, it seems that our best work comes during the times of isolation, when we must go unrecognized, feeling the effects of failure, and frustrated because we think we should be more successful. It feels like being a cake baking in the oven, suffering the heat, and we wonder when we’ll be done.
That which would try to kill our dreams, births them instead.
So do you feel alone? Suffering the heat? Don’t waste it. It may be your greatest opportunity.
David Mercer
January 30, 2008