subject: Wealth Creation - Play Your Cards Close To Your Chest! [print this page] Opportunities abound - if you are vigilant! Accidental 'discoveries' could have been relegated to the 'too hard' basket but for the persistance of their inventors!
The humble Post-It note that is used world-wide was one of those accidents. A batch of glue that failed to stick properly turned out to be one of the greatest assets both in the business world and in our homes. Recipe books are festooned by brightly-coloured post-its. Office boards are awash with short-term visual reminders, again using the post-it. Post-its are often left for our teenage children as reminders to do something. And who does not use the post-it as a handy bookmark?
You see, here, a positive reaction to something that initially seemed to be a failure, turned that same something into a success. Although it was Dr Silver Spencer who actually developed the low-tack glue and tried to get the 3M company to take it on board, it was Arthur Fry who took advantage of, and made a success of his friend's invention. Being frustrated by his markers falling from his hymnal, he remembered the rejected glue. The idea for patenting the product was renewed!
Post-its were put on the market in 1977 by the 3M Company but failed to sell. Despite this, free samples were dispatched to consumers as 'free samples'. Post-its from then on were to become a household name. From seeing an opportunity, to initial rejection, to possible solution, and eventually, success, so began the Post-It!
Another amazing discovery was that of the Velcro fastener. George de Mestral, a Swiss mountaineer, was the intuition behind the velcro fastener. When he arrived home after walking his dog, he found that he was covered in burrs. His dog was too. His insatiable curiosity forced him to examine the burrs under a powerful microscope. When he did so, the found out that the burrs stuck tenaciously to his clothing. He was hooked! He saw in this, an opportunity. And so was born, the Velcro fastener, the arch-rival of the zipper.
Although George envisioned all sorts of uses for his product, it was not an easy pathway to success. His first attempts to market his invention were met with certain derision. Undeterred by the taunting, George took action and in so doing, triumphed where others might have failed. Today Velcro is a multi-million dollar industry.
And what about George? Well he is the hero of every young mother who has tried in vain to teach her pre-schooler to tie shoelaces! He's even more of a hero to kindergarten and pre-school teachers! Moreover, teachers, world-wide, use the same technology, Velcro circles, for classroom displays that actually stay in place! It's hard to imagine life without Velcro.
Highlighted are two accidents that because of persistence and determination on the part of the inventors, became the ultimate in design.
Your being here, reading this, however, is probably not an accident. There must have been a reason in your doing so. Perhaps you were searching for a solution to a problem or an idea that you may have. Maybe you have an idea and are looking for an opportunity to market it. Whatever your reason, if you seriously want to change your life, seize the opportunity. Embrace your ideas with a clear focus, determination and drive. Stop dreaming. Stop hoping. Whatever happens, don't listen to negative people. Don't leave it in the lap of the gods, for there it will stay. And you, then what will you do? Life passes quickly, seemingly much more quickly as you mature! Have you noticed that?
So the time for change is now. Are you going to look back one year from now, ten years from now, and say, I'm glad I took action, it was a challenge, it took me from my comfort zone, it was a risk, but I did it? Or will you find that you simply drifted along, hoping?
You know, 'A bend in the road is not the end of the road...unless you fail to make the turn'. It may take a lot of effort for you to stay positive in your search for success, but if you practice you will find that over time, the positives will overtake the negatives.
Instead of reacting to possible dream stealers, take action. Be determined. Know that you will succeed. Climb that mountain and stay focused. And at the summit, be assured, the view will have been worth the effort.
by: Maria Rattray
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