John Piper (69 years old) pastored the same church for over 30 years, and then when he was done, he saw something on the Internet that he wanted to take and adapt into a way of teaching the Bible. It’s called Look at the Book, and hundreds of thousands of people are now engaged with it each week and attending conferences to see how to think about studying the Bible, not just the conclusions one has while studying it. A man who seemed to have already made his mark has found a new and different way and with it a new generation to influence.

Jerry Seinfeld (61 years old) created what is arguably the greatest show ever – his 90’s sitcom Seinfeld (which aired from 1989 to 1998). It runs on syndication on multiple networks today, and Hulu just signed a deal to run all nine seasons for an estimated $180 million. Recently Seinfeld has been highly successful again with his show “Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee”. 15 minute episodes of Jerry and another comedian driving around in a vintage car, getting coffee and talking about life and comedy, and has become an online phenomena. A man who seemed to have already made his mark has found a new way and with it a new generation to influence.

A few years ago, when Seinfeld began pitching “Comedians in Cars” to media sites like YouTube, and Netflix, he said he was repeatedly told that no one would watch videos more than a couple of minutes long. Envisioning episodes that were 10 to 15 minutes or more, Mr. Seinfeld balked. “The less you know about a field,” he said, “the better your odds. Dumb boldness is the best way to approach a new challenge.”

Indeed.

There are always new wineskins to pour ideas into which could break open new horizons. Don’t just do things the same way everyone else does. Sometimes when people say “this won’t work,” it just may.

We all need dumb boldness. It helps us create new things. New expressions. It helps us re-invent when others may say we had our time, or made our mark.
We never retire until our hearts stop beating.