Most people don’t lack good ideas. They lack the willingness to back them. - An anecdote

I watched a podcast with the founder of Airbnb a while ago where he talked about how, in the beginning, instead of people trying to copy his idea, they just laughed at it. They didn’t think it was realistic.

It reminded me of a law school assignment I had to do 9 years ago where we had to create a fictional law office—how we’d fund it, how we’d operate it. I came up with the idea of an online practice. I got full points for the financial plan, but for the idea itself, I got a 5.5 because my professor didn’t find it realistic.

The irony? I’ve been running an online business for the past 5 years from my phone, and as I’m typing this, I’m sitting in an Airbnb in Croatia.

And even though I chose a different career path than law, I’ve seen plenty of online legal offices pop up over the years, basically implementing the same idea I had back then—the one that was deemed a 5.5.

What was once considered unrealistic is now completely normal. Online businesses, remote work, digital-first companies—this is how the world operates now. But back then, my professor didn’t see it. He thought people wouldn’t trust a fully online law firm, that they needed a physical office, in-person meetings, some kind of formality to take it seriously.

This isn’t just about that assignment. It’s about how most ideas that challenge the status quo are dismissed in the beginning.

How many people have walked away from great ideas because someone told them they weren’t realistic? How many businesses never got built because someone listened to a person with a limited perspective?

Most people don’t lack good ideas. They lack the willingness to back them.