Some years ago, Phil Town became interested in biotech and specifically a business which had Dr. Jonas Salk, the inventor of the Salk Polio Vaccine, as Chairman of the Board. The company struggled, and Phil helped them raise money – and ended up on the Board, too.
As a Board member, Phil Town had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Salk personally. He was truly a great man in private as well as one of the most influential men in the field of science. One night, after a dinner at his beautiful home in La Jolla, he told Phil a story about how people act toward you when you’re trying to do something new.
He said that when he first started developing the vaccine against polio, the people who loved him and wanted the best for his career and his life told him that if his idea was any good, it would have been done already. But it hadn’t been done; therefore it couldn’t work and he was wasting his time. But he realized that as much as they loved him, they didn’t see the possibilities he saw… and so he continued in spite of the skepticism.
Once he had developed the vaccine far enough that he could test it, he did – and the tests went well. However, the results were preliminary and certainly not perfect – so the people who loved him and wished his career well said the test results were trivial and his work, though interesting, couldn’t make any real difference in the long run in preventing the disease. Still, he persevered.
Finally, years later, when polio had been nearly eliminated from the planet, the people who loved him and wished him well in his career came to him at award ceremonies to congratulate him and to tell him they knew it would work all along.
He said to expect this process in anything you are doing that is going to make a real difference in the world. First, they may say it will never work. Second, they could say it works, but it’s trivial. Third, after you’ve succeeded, the exact same people might say they knew it would work all along!
He said don’t let the skeptics stop you if you think what you are doing is worth trying. Even the ones who love you. Even the ones who want what’s best for you. Your life is up to you. Live it like it really is and try to make a difference.
Phil Town has always appreciated that advice from one of the great men of our time. Phil Town hopes you can use it, too.
Tags: Phil Town, phil town rule 1