Bubbles end when people start to think for themselves…

Or the Power of Thinking for Yourself

Unfortunately, I’m currently more on the side of consumption than production. I read everyday blogs, watch videos, and listen to podcasts to educate myself about specific topics instead of creating more great blog posts, websites or photography. Although reading is extremely helpful and can provide multiple benefits, I noticed that thinking for yourself is in every way more important and essential to living a fulfilling life.

I really believe that thinking is the strongest but unfortunately least utilized weapon on this planet. Great thinking is unique and often singular. Thinking for yourself can lead to answers and perspectives that are beyond common sense. There are some truths that are commonsense e.g. the earth is round but if you had lived in the 18. Century, the common sense was that emperors are god alike. Fortunately, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant used the Latin phrase: “Sapere aude” — “Dare to think for yourself!” which defined the age of the enlightenment. The enlightenment has brought many of the most fundamental changes to our society with new political constitutions and economic innovations.

But when you start to think for yourself, let’s be careful not to come too quickly to conclusions. Let’s stop being sloppy and repetitive. Most people avoid thinking by using short-cuts and using all the time specific formulas without understanding them. It is the ultimate definition of madness: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” (Albert Einstein). To live a special life, you need to do special thinks. Sometimes you need to recalibrate and sometimes you need to make sacrifices. Please remember there are no short-cuts in math or science in general and there are no shortcuts to living a fulfilling life. Therefore, let’s not just follow others’ ideas and consume. Those habits lead to huge bubbles where everybody is just doing the same. If you are trying to catch a new wave, you have to paddle before the wave arrives. Once the wave has passed, you can never catch it again. Unfortunately, it has not prevented people to found tech startups after 1998 and people to invest in real estate during 2005 and 2008. Everybody knows how it ended. Bubbles end when people start to think for themselves. Let’s dare to think for ourselves.