A couple of weeks ago I visited the Brazilian city of Manaus and took this picture of the bridge that is being build between the mainland and the small locality of Iranduba. 

Most of my Brazilian friends, pointing out that there was nothing on the other side, were quick to dismiss the project as a white elephant dreamed up by corrupt politicians so that they could enrich themselves. 

Given the nature of Brazil’s regional politics, there could certainly be an element of truth to that.  On the other hand, however, maybe the reason why there is nothing on the other side is that people can’t get there in the first place. 

Perhaps, once the bridge is built, Iranduba’s real estate will become more valuable, residential and commercial development will start, and with it many new, profitable businesses.

The bridge is a vivid metaphor of the vision successful entrepreneurs have always shown:

• Where others saw just a vast expanse of swampland, Walt Disney envisioned an amusement park so great that millions of people from around the world would flock to. 
• Frederick Smith, the founder of Fedex, was once told that nobody would pay $10 to have their mail delivered overnight.
• Martin Cooper, after successfully testing his first cell phone prototype, knew that his new invention would one day give millions the freedom of mobile communications; others, however, could only see a ridiculous contraption the size of a brick.

The world of business is full of successful entrepreneurs who were repeatedly told that there was nothing on the other side, but went ahead and built the bridge anyway.