"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication."

~ William Orton, President of Western Union, in 1876

"If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it."

~ Albert Einstein

nay·say·er noun \ˈnā-ˌsā-ər, -ˌser\ : a person who says something will not work or is not possible : a person who denies, refuses, or opposes something.

Naysayers are people that compulsively say "no" more than they say "yes".

They're everywhere but naysayers are more concentrated in places that are struggling. They worry about the future because the past has been difficult and they have trouble imagining that incredible new things can happen -- that new ideas and new wealth can be created out of thin air.

Naysayers are more paralyzed by fear than motivated by possibility.

Here are just some of the things that naysayers like to say when they hear new ideas:

1. It’s already been done.
2. If it's such a good idea someone else is probably doing it.
3. If it’s such a good idea Google will just steal it.
4. If it's such a good idea Amazon would already be doing it.
5. It will probably be too expensive to try it.
6. You don’t have enough experience or skills to do it.
7. You might get sued.
8. It sounds too difficult.
9. It doesn't sound scalable.
10. It doesn't sound patentable.
11. It's unproven.
12. You're unproven.
13. Nobody will pay for it.
14. I think somebody tried this once and it didn't work.

Paul M. Allen is a Leader with Bizdom. Bizdom is a startup accelerator that trains, mentors and funds aspiring entrepreneurs to launch innovative startups in Detroit and Cleveland. Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans Inc. is the Founder and Chairman of Bizdom. Mr. Gilbert is also majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie Monsters, and is the operator of the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Collaborators include American Greetings and Case Western University Hospitals.