In 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda was invited to perform at the White House. His musical “In The Heights” had just won a Grammy & 4 Tony Awards. So the White House expected him to perform something from Heights. Instead, he debuted a song from a hip-hop concept he’d been working on: Miranda explained that he'd been working on a “concept album about the life of someone I think embodies hip-hop...Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.” The crowd laughed. “You laugh, but it's true!”Miranda replied. “He was born a penniless orphan in St. Croix of illegitimate birth, became George Washington's right-hand man, became Treasury Secretary...All on the strength of his writing. He embodies the word's ability to make a difference.” Takeaway 1: Whenever Lin-Manuel Miranda told people he was working on a hip-hop concept about a founding father, they did what the White House did—they laughed at him. In fact, the day after that White House performance, Miranda got made fun of during a three-minute rant on The Daily Show. He worked on the concept for 8 years—so, Miranda said, “I had a lot of people laughing and looking at me like I was crazy for a very long time.” In 1817, the poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brothers to share an exciting realization. “At once it struck me,” Keats wrote, “what quality went to form a Man of Achievement … Negative Capability.” Keats explains that “Negative Capability” is “when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, [and] doubts.” Rarer than talent or work ethic, Keats said, is the ability to step into and push through uncertainties and doubts, to continue working on something in spite of people laughing at you or looking at you like you're crazy. Takeaway 2: Rick Rubin was asked what he’s learned through making a lot of different kinds of music with a lot of different kinds of artists. “One thing is,” Rubin said, “never try to judge an idea based on the description of the idea.” There is always a gap between an idea in theory and in reality. Rubin explained, “An artist will say, ‘I have an idea, we can write the bridge like this,’ and they’ll give me a description of the idea, and it sounds terrible—the description sounds terrible. And I say, ‘Great, can’t wait to hear it.’ And then they do it, and it’s incredible…so we never rely on the description. It’s always, ‘show it to me. Let me hear it.’” When Lin-Manuel Miranda gave people a description of his idea, they laughed at him and looked at him like he was crazy. But eventually, Miranda didn’t have to rely on the description of his idea. Eventually, he got to show people "Hamilton," a musical that earned 11 Tony awards, the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2017 Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack, and the number eight spot on Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2015. Never judge an idea based on the description of the idea. - - - “‘That won’t work’ is the worst thing you can ever say. ‘That didn’t work’ is cool, but ‘That won’t work’ is not a way to go through life.” — John Mayer Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!