From Ryan Abramson at Oakridge Leaders: Everything I Really Need to Know About Business (or life), I Learned by Watching the Savannah Bananas.

This past weekend, the Savannah Bananas invaded Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, selling out with over 45,000 fans packing the ballpark. In a city known for throwing snowballs at Santa and booing struggling hometown teams, somehow, someway, Banana Ball brought out the best in the City of Brotherly (and Sisterly) Love.

The concept is simple: Fans First. Entertain Always. Upon arriving at the stadium, instead of hoping to catch a glimpse of a player during batting practice, the Bananas are outside encouraging photos with fans. Walking the concourse, there’s no pre-game broadcast filled with statistics and betting odds. Instead, the pre-game is all about music and entertainment. And the game? You might even find yourself thinking, “What game?” as hometown songs, legend-level players, and the absence of commercial break boredom keep you fully engaged from start to finish. What was the score? Who cares!?

What makes Banana Ball so perfect is its intentional effort to be different. Sure, you have to buy a (very hard to get) ticket, and there’s endless (sold out) gear to purchase—we can’t fault them for running a successful business. But the brilliance lies in taking what we want to see at a baseball game and packing it into an efficient, time-bound, goal-achieving structure that leaves you ready to sign up again. These are, of course, the keys to a successful business - and life.

Sadly, most people are terrified of being different. Whether they are from Bucks County or from California, they’d rather conform to solutions that might grow stale but avoid any risk. Diminishing returns are celebrated as “right-sizing” expectations, rather than understanding that rewards grow when we innovate and present something new. History is filled with risk-takers who failed, got back up, failed again, kept trying, and finally found success. Even the Bananas mortgaged their homes (I'm not sure Ryan Abramson has that kind of courage) to keep the dream alive. Different can be scary, but different is where the pot of gold lies, hidden at the elusive end of the rainbow.

A word of caution to the risk-takers, though, for rewards often come at the price of the lazy. As Shakespeare wrote, “Time’s glory is to command contending kings, To unmask falsehood, and bring truth to light.” The haters will come out with a vengeance, desperate to destroy your dream, attack your character, and build armies to plot against you. They’ll scream encouragement to your face but whisper misinformation when you turn your back. Power is often held by those who can best produce an illusion of knowledge, and they have no greater enemy than the disruptive mind that blows away the smoke.

So how do we get past the gatekeepers of conformity? First, we must be committed to being our most authentic selves—realizing that who we are grows and changes as we experience life and age. Second, we must stand up for our dreams. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!” (Though often attributed to Mark Twain, he didn’t actually say this.) And lastly, we need to take risks. That’s right—we need to say, “So those are your rules about how things should be done. Now let me tell you how I’m gonna do it.” People will say you’re crazy. They might try to beat you down. They might push you out. They may try to scare others into ignoring you. They will surely stop at nothing to maintain their own power. But stand firm in pushing ahead. The worst that can happen is you fail and have to try again. The best that can happen? You’ll be living your dream. Aren’t you worth it?

By the way, the Bananas lost, 2-1. But for the first time in over a hundred years, the scoreboard in a Philadelphia professional stadium was the last thing on anyone’s mind. The most talked-about fans in America were too busy Going Bananas.

Oakridge Leaders is a Langhorne, PA communications and marketing consulting service founded by Ryan Abramson, specializing in brand marketing, leadership development, communication skills, and professional growth. Oakridge Leaders provides personalized coaching to organizations, professionals, students, and athletes, helping them build confidence and master the art of effective and authentic communication.