You have to be CRAZY

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are usually the ones who do.”
— Steve Jobs

Last year, after winning the Digital Democracy Innovation Hackathon, CIVICUS invited me to pitch my solution at International Civil Society Week, the world’s largest civil society gathering, where over 1,000 leaders from around the world came together in Bangkok.

It was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

I met out-of-the-box thinkers pitching the wildest ideas. Concepts I had only imagined. Projects the average person would dismiss as unrealistic, impossible, even crazy.

And then it hit me.

You have to be a little crazy to succeed.

Not irrational. But crazy enough to believe in something before the world gives you permission to do so.

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes: “Begin with the end in mind.”

That sounds simple. But if you really think about it, it’s a radical act. It means living today based on a future nobody else can see yet.

Here are three reasons I believe being “crazy” matters.

In Biology, homeostasis is the process where a system fights to maintain stability.

Your body regulates temperature, energy, all to keep you within a safe range.

The world works like that too.

Society, systems, expectations, even fear, all work together to keep most people in the middle. Predictable. Safe. Average.

And average feels comfortable.

But growth rarely happens there.

In The Magic of Thinking Big, David J. Schwartz writes: “Action cures fear.”

If you want to explore your full potential, you must be willing to push beyond what feels normal. Beyond what people expect of you.

That may mean failing.

But it may also mean discovering a version of yourself you never knew existed.

Be crazy enough to take the leap.

It is often said: to him who has, more shall be given.

This is what psychologists call the Matthew Effect.

Success compounds.

Opportunities multiply around visible progress.

And this creates a hard truth: when you have nothing, starting feels almost impossible.

Which is why you have to be crazy.

Crazy enough to act like your future is already secure.

Crazy enough to walk into rooms with confidence before your résumé says you belong there.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

The world senses conviction.

And often, it responds to it.

Not because you have arrived, but because you carry yourself like you will.

It’s usually not the smartest people who win.

It’s the ones willing to move first.

To ask.

To risk embarrassment.

To knock.

Last month, I set out to visit and invite representatives from two Ministries here in Cameroon for an event we’re organizing in collaboration with Refugees International. (More on that soon.)

I had no internal connections.

Just the courage to prepare my documents, walk into those offices, explain who I was, what I wanted, and why it mattered.

And it worked.

I was granted audiences to speak at ministerial cabinet, engage policy department, and schedule follow-up appointments.

No permission. Just courage.

The world does not always reward the most qualified.

Sometimes it rewards the boldest.

So maybe the goal is not to be normal.

Maybe the goal is to be just crazy enough to believe your life can become bigger than your current reality.

And if you’re reading this and feel like you have potential, but lack clarity, direction, or the right guidance to move forward, that’s exactly why I launched The Global Pathways Mentorship with Mr Africa.

A one-on-one mentorship designed to help you build, grow, position yourself for opportunities, and move intentionally toward your goals.

If that sounds like what you need right now, fill this form and save your spot.

Sometimes all it takes is one bold decision to change everything.