I have an unpopular opinion about the saying…

“Don’t reinvent the wheel.”

I’ve seen and heard it a lot in the entrepreneurial space and every time I see someone say it and post it within their content…I cringe.

I feel like it’s one of the most cringe-worthy, overused, and misrepresented statements out there for those entrepreneurs who are meant to be and teach innovators.

Because it’s not accurate. In fact, the wheel has actually been reinvented several times compared to how it started.

According to the Smithsonian the first wheel is dated back to 3500 B.C. in Mesopotamia, 300 years before they were used for chariots. Funny enough the wheel was first used as a potter’s wheel, and then hollowed out later to be used for transportation.

So the wheel in fact, has been reinvented (since reinvention is all about taking something and changing or redoing it).

So when we say, “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” we’re actually saying keep using the wheel as a potter’s wheel, which was its original intent…

It just doesn’t make sense.

Now here’s what I say.

“Yes, reinvent the wheel and keep the original structure as that’s what keeps the motion of moving forward.”

Like I said, unpopular opinion, but the opinion just doesn’t make sense to me.

Which is a lot of what I’ve found in the online space.

So today we’re going to talk about two of my favorite topics: Disruption and Innovation.

The both go hand and hand, and both are about being the opposite of the status quo.

Growing up, I was anything but compliant. In fact, one of the things I got in trouble for most was, non-compliance. I remember hearing things said to my parents like…

“Oh, you’re going to have trouble with that one. She’s young and has a mind of her own.”

“She definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. Good luck with that.”

And living in a small town, compliance meant survival and well, we were all in survival mode. So you can kind of guess what happened.

Eventually, I became compliant.

Looking back on it now, it was suffocating and I didn’t know exactly why I wanted to leave my hometown right after high school, but boy did I run. And I ended up going as far away from northern Maine as possible (my first college was University of Hawaii at Manoa).

I had never been away from home or my parents for more than a handful of days, so this was a completely new experience for me.

Was I scared. You betcha.

Did I have any idea of what I was getting myself into? Nope, not even in slightest.

Did I learn a lot? I did, and I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted.

And I made a lot of mistakes…a lot of mistakes.

That was really just the beginning of me coming back into my non-compliant/yes reinvent the freakin wheel self.

And funny enough when I was thinking about this podcast episode, one of my favorite songs came on that really described the unfolding of my own disruption from that point forward…

Road Less Traveled - Lauren Alaina

You won’t make yourself a name if you follow the rules

History gets made when you’re acting a fool

So, don’t hold back…just flaunt it

Show what you got and just own it

No one can tear you apart

If you trust your rebel heart

Ride into battle

Don’t be afraid

Take the road less traveled

Wear out your boots

And kick up the gravel

Don’t be afraid

Take the road less traveled

So for my fellow innovators, disruptors, and rebels who are teetering the line between a good vs. bad mentality when it comes to your business, this last piece is for you.

If you’re feeling the pull to do things differently. Start by doing things differently today. Find some point in your every day business to break the pattern of monotony.

Whether that’s changing up your messaging, sending a different type of email to your email list or trying out a new platform that you haven’t tried before. Do it…and do it scared.

Even if you fail.

Even if you make yourself a fool.

Because the worst thing isn’t about those two things. The worst thing is living with regret and wondering about the ‘what if’.

And the best part of being the pattern breaker for yourself is…you give permission to those who are watching to break their own.

So, until next time…

Make it a great one!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**1. Smithsonian Magazine, 2009: Author - Megan Gambino. “A Salute to the Wheel.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-salute-to-the-wheel-31805121/

**2. Lauren Alaina (singer/songwriter). Co-writers Jesse Frasure and Meghan Trainor. “Road Less Traveled.” 2016. https://open.spotify.com/album/296hswDnxvymjboFBxvmI5