Change requires courage. Innovation is not for the meek of heart. To be successful, you must become Comfortable being Uncomfortable.
To step out of comfort, we have to have a reason. We have to believe that there is something worth this risk, something bigger than us. Something that we are doing for others, that can become a legacy that we leave behind. Something that gives our life meaning.
The aspiration is a statement of that larger purpose that creates a Higher Purpose. It is something that is outrageous. That is important. That is worth the risk, knowing that if you fail, you will fail gloriously.
When I first came to Dayton, our audacious aspiration was to create a national model for an Innovation Hub that would light the way for other rural communities to become full participants in a new innovation economy. This aspiration allowed us to not only think about bold new models of education, but also infrastructure.
When Jami and I started working together we set as our audacious aspiration the re-imagining of education, where, in 3-5 years we could transform Oregon from having one of the worst performing educational systems in the country to a national model.
To do this, we knew that we could not simply the path of others, but to Leapfrog with an entirely new model.