I've been working on a few projects that have all come about because of times in my life when I have decided that I needed to do something that would help people move out of the way they had always done things and learn how to do something new. In each one of my projects when I've tried to talk to people about how I thought things could be done differently and then tried to do them differently, there's been a few people who try to tell me that it won't work or that it's not worth trying or that I need to do things the way they've always been done because that's how everyone does them. It's an odd kind of advice I find that some people give, because in the same breath when they're saying that the other model isn't successful, they're saying that the unsuccessful way is the only way to do it. Though it's true that some people may have succeeded with doing things a certain way, in the cases where I have been experiencing this kind of strange advice giving is when I have actually been creating a new model to make something work fluidly that wasn't working well before.
There have been projects I've worked on in the past where I've experienced this same kind of challenge. It's not the idea that is the problem I face, it's getting people to understand a concept or idea that they haven't heard of before and taking a chance that it could work. In every case the ideas that I've had could have been successful if they'd only been given a chance, and when they are given a chance the oddest thing happens. When I go ahead and do something that people told me wasn't possible, when it is successful the very same people that said it wasn't possible or that it had to be done the way that it always was done very often take the idea and run with it, and act as if all along it was something they had thought of themselves. I suppose I should take that as a compliment, but sometimes it's jarring, and it can be very difficult to keep calm when people are always trying to give you advice to do something the way it was always done when you are trying to do something new.
YES Gallery is one of those models that is being created as a new thing. It's been a very interesting experience to see who walks in the door and responds with a resounding yes because those are the people who understand and appreciate what I'm doing there. I'm so thankful for those people because they keep my spirits soaring, and help me understand that though not everyone is comfortable with changing the way things have always been done, there are still people out there who are willing to try. It seems very simple, really, have an idea that is different and new and give it a place to grow and be nurtured and made tried and true. But it's in that process of having the vision and creating a new model that can change how things are done in an innovative way that sometimes we can get sidetracked or convinced that we need to go back to the old more familiar path. Saying YES to something new can be a challenge, not only for our own growth and learning but because of the way ideas can be perceived. Saying YES is the way doors can open, and it's getting to that place where we can say YES that makes real change happen.
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