Tried-and-True Wisdom is Bad for Us (Sometimes)

Nothing kills creative potential like conventional wisdom.

As a keynote speaker on innovation, creativity, and leadership, I’ve seen this play out in organizations across industries.

Yes—there’s immense value in the best practices that leaders, artists, and builders before us have refined through trial and error.

But best practices are not universal laws.
They’re starting points—not destinations.

And the real danger comes when we blindly follow these conventional norms, ignoring our own experiences, creative instincts, or leadership style just because they don’t align with “what’s worked” for someone else.

Here are a few pieces of “common wisdom” that haven’t always served me:

🟥 Best practice: Procrastination is bad.
🟢 My truth: Sometimes procrastination is a creative tool. That last-minute crunch forces me to act decisively, get out of my own way, and trust my intuition. Some of my most original work—in both poetry and business—has come from that urgency.

🟥 Best practice: Always lead with positivity and abundance.
🟢 My truth: I’ve found that a little spite toward doubters can light a powerful fire. When someone rejects an idea with arrogance, it makes me want to prove them wrong—and often leads me to take risks I wouldn’t have otherwise.

🟥 Best practice: Two heads are always better than one.
🟢 My truth: As a recovering people-pleaser, too much collaboration too early can smother my unique voice. Some of my boldest leaps—on stage, in business, in life—came from trusting myself first.

👉 Original thinking, innovative leadership, and creative breakthroughs often require us to question inherited wisdom.

It’s not about rejecting best practices—but about rewriting them when they no longer serve us.

Because the most powerful strategies are the ones we craft ourselves, by paying attention to what actually works for us.