Can a 4 year old “ball of energy” handle real rock climbing? I had waited 10 years for my kids to be old enough to go to the local climbing routes in our canyons.

After watching his older siblings on the rock, my 4 year old boy was literally bouncing around in his harness with excitement. I attached the rope to his body harness and off he went.

Well…he tried and tried but he was just too small to get past the smooth rocks at the bottom.

He just wanted to be like his older brother and sister but couldn’t even get started.

After seeing his frustration I lifted him up past the smooth rocks. He quickly climbed as high as he dared and came down very upset.

He wanted to go as high as his siblings did and felt that he failed.

My wife and I encouraged him to try again and to focus on climbing higher than he did before.

His attitude and demeanor change immediately.

Since then, every climb is better than the last and his new definition of success has made him happy.

What does success look like?

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” Bruce Lee

Okay, be honest. Are you successful?

Most people don’t know how to define their success and therefore are not.

In contrast, successful people know exactly how to define it. This is not to say that their definition didn’t change a long the way.

I believe it’s impossible for YOU to be successful. You can’t be successful but “we” can.

Just like my rock climbing son needed the rope and help from his parents to succeed, only through the help of others can success really be achieved.

Are you willing to accept others into your vision of success?

As humans we are in life, in a career, in a family looking for something to make us happy. We search for something to make us fulfilled, something to make us feel successful.

The first step to being successful is defining what success is to you.

What does success look like?

What does success feel like?

What does success smell like?

What does success sound like?

Marcus Lemonis teaches that there are 3 P’s that make a good business. I add that those same P’s defines a persons success as well.

All successful people have used these three things to become successful.

The 3 P’s of success

1. P — People

2. P — Process

3. P — Product

“Stay focused, work hard, know your numbers, and be disciplined. If you do those things and take care of your people, the likelihood of being successful is very, very high.” Marcus Lemonis

P1: PEOPLE

“The key to business isn’t being smarter or wealthier, it’s being able to connect to people and relate to them. ” Marcus Lemonis

Who does success look like?

Success is like a chain, it’s only as strong as the weakest link.

Successful people understand this concept and surround themselves with the right people or links.

Successful people understand that there is some person on the other end of the rope looking out for them and protecting them when they slip.

P2: PROCESS

“Stay focused, work hard, know your numbers, and be disciplined.” Marcus Lemonis

How does success happen?

Successful people don’t just succeed once, that’s called winning the lottery.

Successful people have a process that allows them & there team to be successful time after time.

That’s not to say that process doesn’t change. In fact the process needs to be adapted to each situation.

P3: PRODUCT

“Performance is the best way to shut people up. ” Macus Lemonis

What did success produce?

How many times have you gone throughout the workday not knowing what needed to be accomplished?

If you work on a manufacturing line, you’ve never had this problem because everyday you have a set quantity of widgets that needs to be made.

In contrast, there are many jobs that are not so black and white.

Despite your job, every successful person has deliverables that they must strive to achieve.

In the end, those deliverables are only completed through cooperation with the people and the processes.

Conclusion

Our culture & environment try to dictate what success in this world looks like. DON’T listen!

Quit being acted on and DO the acting.

YOU need to redefine what success is in your life and find a way to go get it.

…with his face down & tongue out. He proceeded to lick 8 FEET of public floor!

The Story

2 weeks ago I was at the local fast food restaurant for some ice cream. I witnessed something that you don’t see everyday.

There was a group of 12-13 year old boys finishing up the last of their ice cream. One of them wanted more and asked his friend for the remainder of his ice cream. The friend responded with a dare.

The next thing I realized, the boy was on the floor with his face down and tongue out.

He proceeded to lick 8 FEET of public floor!

Why? Why would anyone even think about doing this?

In order to appease my curiosity, I decided to observe the aftermath of this successfully executed dare.

Below are 6 tips I used to effectively use the power of OBSERVATION to find the why behind this crazy behavior.

6 observation tips to find the NEEDS of anyone!

“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.”
― Marilyn Vos Savant

Every business is selling something that should address the “NEEDS” of its user. However, some do it much better than others.

A great way to really identify your customers “needs” is through observation.

Here are 6 tips to step-up your observation game.

1. Find what triggers behavior

Behaviors can be triggered by obvious things likes road signs and lines. Other triggers might not be so obvious.

Here are a few other triggers you should watch for:

• Smells
• Shapes
• Sounds
• Colors
• Textures
• Vibrations
• Songs

Deep down inside of all of us, are needs. Many of which go unmet.

Oftentimes, the triggers of certain behaviors are rooted in an unmet need that our unconscious mind needs to fulfill.

During observations you should always be asking, what need has not been met?

2. Seek out hacks

If you look around in the world, you will find people that have created workarounds or hacks.

These “hackers” are making improvements on products or services that are failing them.

When you observe these hacks you should ask yourself, what does this tell me about their needs?

If someone spent time on a makeshift solution, there’s a need worth looking at.

The next time you’re at the pool, the mall, or coffee shop, take some time to observe one person (or family) as long as you can.

What adaptations or hacks might they be using?

3. Pay attention to others interests

People pay for products and services that pique their personal interests. Discover what people are interested in.

People surround themselves with things they care about. What are those things?

What stories are they telling or wanting to tell?

Are you seeing new trends or interests in certain age groups?

What products or services are not being offered for their interests?

How do peoples interests affect their actions or habits?

Are they spending money on their interests? Why?

4. Look for emotional needs

We are blessed to live in a digital world. One major problem is that it masks emotions behind a cold screen of ones & zeros.

Emotional needs are most often found in the nonverbal language.

Interpreting people’s nonverbal language must be done through face to face observation.

Here are 5 nonverbal cues you should watch for:

1. Facial Expressions

2. Body Movements & Postures

3. Gestures

4. Touch

5. Space

The fastest way to improve your products or services is make sure you are solving an emotional pain point or need.

5. Look for patterns
During the observation process you might see patterns or routines. These should trigger you to look further into the underlying needs.

Ask yourself, why do they repeat this over and over?

how is it helping them?

how is it hurting them?

What need is this repeat behavior fulfilling?

How can my product or service meet this need better?

6. Look for the unexpected
If you observe people long enough, you might see them say or do something unexpected.

Why did they do this?

what caused it?

what benefit does it have for them?

what need is it fulfilling?

Whats the story behind this behavior?

Conclusion

We humans are quite complicated. If we care enough to slow down and observe behavior, we can find the unmet needs.

Licking 8 feet of floor wasn’t about getting more ice cream.

By observing what happened after cleaning the floor (reading his body language, etc…) it was obvious that he needed to feel like he had a place within his peers.

If you want to make products and services that sell themselves, get out from behind your computer and observe humans doing what they do!

Call to Action

Do your customers understand what needs are being met by your product or service?

If you can’t communicate the benefits of your idea in under 30 seconds, you lose. I have created a guide to step you through my process.

check out my FREE 1 Page Product Pitch Guide w/Template.

Click here to get the FREE Guide (tips, example, & Template) right now!

He was almost to the punchline of his sermon when it happened. The tissue box next to him began to move! “What the heck! Should I be scared?”…

The prank

The speaker straightened his arms and wrapped his fingers around the wooden pulpit, then took a deep breath and looked back into the congregation.

He was almost to the punchline. His concentration was broken as he looked down at the tissue box on the pulpit next to his right hand.

It’s MOVING. “What the heck! Should I be scared?” he thought.

His punchline was ruined and nobody else knew why.

It went downhill from there. Every few seconds the tissue box danced around in slow circles, moving right, then left, up then down.

Only he noticed the slow movements.

His body position shifted away from the dancing tissue box. An awkward silence filled the room.

My cruel joke worked on the speaker.

Like most sixteen-year-old teens, I couldn’t see the problem of pranking someone at their expense.

Embarrassingly enough, I even started to snicker and grin.

This lack of concentration caused a momentary loss of control to my radio controlled robot box. The thought of losing all my hard work pulled me back into focus.

My performance was saved, but unfortunately I couldn’t say the same for the speaker.

1998 was a long time ago, and I am proud to say I am now more mature.

Putting aside the emotional damage I caused, I am proud of one lesson learned at such an early age.

Our minds have tremendous potential! If we don’t push them to create, to solve problems, to bring ideas to life, you will become the robot.

Sometimes we just need to create to feel alive.

Artists are born

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” — Pablo Piasso

When does the artistic side of a child's brain get overrun and locked up?

I don’t know the exact time in life, but as a father of 3 children, I do know that our education system undervalues artistic/creative thinking.

We need artists (original thinkers & problem solvers) not just drones that follow procedures and policies.

Its not to late! Children and grown ups can unlock the shackles.

Those creative muscles might be in atrophy, but through intentional and regular exercises they can become a part of you again.

Create every day

“You win by trying. And failing. Test, try, fail, measure, evolve, repeat, persist, …” — Seth Godin

Are you willing to fail?

Most people let the fear of failure stop them from trying. However, the successful people I have met don’t care about failing.

I fact they embrase it, they understand that failing is part of the formula to succeed.

Failing doesn’t always happen in public but you do have to fail to become “someone”.

I feel very blessed to work with a group of people that understand this idea.

As a product development engineer, my success is measured by how big my pile of failed prototypes is.

They understand that you must build it before you see all the flaws.

The faster you can put one idea in the ground, the sooner you can give life to the next.

Your mind craves to be used often.

You don’t go a day without feeding your body. Don’t starve your mind. Use it every day!

Change your definition of what success looks like.

Succeed everyday by learning from your failures.

“ Ship often. Ship lousy stuff, but ship. Ship constantly.” — Seth Godin

Make it fun

“When you play, you engage the creative side of your brain and silence your “inner editor,” that psychological barrier that censors your thoughts and ideas. This can often help you see the problem in a new light and think up fresh, creative solutions.” — Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Jennifer Shubin

How do games foster your creativity?

There is a difference between being childish and childlike.

The inner child can be brought out of us all through play.

It is in this mental state that we can focus our energies on solving problems and being creative without the distractions of the logical mind.

Why do you think the “Googles” of the world provide Ping-pong and Foosball tables in the workplace?

They market it as “building culture” but companies don’t build something unless they expect a return.

The “return” is refreshed minds and outside the box thinking.

When was the last time you silenced your “inner editor” to make room for thoughts that bring life and fun to your work?

5 days to play

“Associational thinking is the way the brain processes information through integrating patterns, seeing contextual relationships, connecting seemingly unrelated elements, and three dimensional mental modeling.”— The Cerecore Institute

Have you noticed your mind making connections between unrelated things?

The truth is, you mind is always making these connections but we don’t notice them because they are at the subconscious level.

I have come up with a conscious way, a game, to help you get out of your rut and exercise your creative muscle.

Here are the rules for tapping into the power of associative thinking:

NOTE: If you want to play along, Get my FREE Mix & Make Template here.

1. Choose 2 unrelated categories, Category 1 should relate to your area of interest. Use my Free template to follow along.
2. Set a timer for 3 minutes
3. Create a list of items for Category 1
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for Category 2
5. Randomly mix the items between Category 1 & 2. Use lines to connect them if needed. NOTE: If using the FREE template the the numbers between Categories are mixed, just match the numbers together.
6. Set a timer for 3 minutes
7. Think up an idea for a product or service for each of your mixed items. TIP: Think about the benefits & features of each item and mix those thoughts.
8. Choose at least 1 mixed idea. Describe the idea in words including its key benefits
9. Hand sketch your idea. Don’t worry if you can’t draw, do your best? Consider sketching people (stick figures) or the product in use.
10. Point out 2–4 features/benefits on the sketch to help sell the idea.

Notes

• Often this exercise will lead you to an idea outside the original scope. Don’t worry, just go with it and see what rabbit hole it takes you down.
• If your mind is just exploding with ideas, list them all.

Conclusion

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
― Jim Rohn

Are you willing to be successful?

Are you willing to consistently open your mind?

Be creative, be successful, be alive!

It is work, but you can make it fun and something to look forward too.

You will see the world differently as you transform into a being of action rather than being acted upon.

Call to Action

I’ve created a FREE creativity exercise for putting your mind into a peak creative state, immediately. If you follow this daily, your approach to solving ANY problem will change.

Get the FREE worksheet (w/examples) here!

An idea for a new product came to me. But it seemed too simple, surely this can't be “the one”. You know the million-dollar idea everyone has within them. Could this be mine? Certainly, its been done before, right?

48 hours later I had prototypes in hand and was walking in “cold” to a local company to pitch my idea.

2 weeks later my prototypes were flown to Atlanta, GA. They were hand carried to a conference room and presented to the Home Depot executives and buyers.

48 Hour CHALLENGE

“How could you validate right now if people want this or not? …What can you do right now to see if people actually want this as a business?” — Noah Kagan

“ You should be innovating so fast that you’re invalidating your prior patents”- Elon Musk

Are you willing to put your fears aside and act on your ideas right now?

No matter your background, education, or experience your ideas can have value. You will never know unless you bring them to life.

You should feel nervous, a little unsure, and doubtful. This is normal.

However, doubt your doubts before you doubt yourself.

Most people will sit on their ideas and let them shrivel on the vine.

But not you, you will work and nurture it.

48 hours is all you need!

If you really put in the hard work, your idea and its path forward will become clear.

If not, start over and try again!

In order to innovate fast, use the following suggestions and free template to create a 1 page product pitch within the next 48 hours!

Finding the PROBLEM

“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein

A good idea solves a problem people can relate to.

The only way to get to a great idea is spending time contemplating the issues. Find out what the pain points really are.

You must become aware of the needs of those around you. To do this, consider the following:

• Put yourself in an environment that is not distracting
• Think about the needs that exist
• Record your thoughts

Let your creativity flow and let your thoughts run uninterrupted.

I am not the fastest on the keyboard and my thoughts often outpace my ability to write them down. I have lost many fleeing thoughts and insights because of this.

My most recent solution has been to us my smartphones’ voice to text feature as my first course of action.

As a result, my thoughts and creativity are NOT interrupted by mistakes in grammar, sentence structure, or punctuation.

Product SKETCHES

“A picture is worth a thousand words” — 1911 newspaper article quoting newspaper editor Tess Flanders

The crowning touch to really bring your idea to life is prototyping with a sketch or picture.

I usually do this step first because I am such a visual person. Sometimes I can’t get past the mental blocks without it. Do whatever keeps you in the creative zone.

This also helps other’s understand your idea more clearer and quicker than any other method.

You might feel a little sheepish sketching your idea with stick figures, circles, and squares.

Get over it! If your not an artist, just do your best. At some point you can call in a favor from your artistic fun-loving friend. Even they will benefit from your previous attempts.

An alternative to a hand sketch would be a picture or image. With minimal training most computer literate people can modify one or more images in order to portray their product idea effectively.

Use what tools you have to create a pictorial-like representation of your idea.

Never leave your idea alone with words.

Describe your IDEA

“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.” — Red Haircrow

In the end you want to be able to describe your product in as few words as possible.

Do this using a one-line statement.

The process of transposing you ideas from your brain to paper often uncovers holes in your thoughts that were buried below the surface. It also allows new ideas to be incubated in order to fill those holes.

Compile all your thoughts, points, and ideas in one space. Next, boil down all your words into a simple phrase everyone can relate to.

If you can’t distill your idea down into three to seven words your idea is not mature.

Keep going, you can do it!

I am a very visual learner and thinker. Using my sketch to serve as my muse or inspiration for the description if very effective. Do what works best for you.

Google SEARCHES

“Know your stuff. Have an angle. Know how to …develop products, have patents and an undeveloped market that could be huge.” — Mark Cuban

At some point you need to check out the competition. Don’t do this until you have thoroughly fleshed-out your idea.

You don’t want to stop the flow of creative thinking. This is common if your mind has been influenced by someone else’s products.

Here are some tips for using Google Image search to see whats out there:

1. Use your list of compiled descriptions from above to plug-in to the search bar
2. Scroll the results looking for similar ideas
3. Look for products that solve similar problems
4. Note the price points of similar products and who their target market is

Here are some tips of using Google Patent search:

1. Use your list of compiled descriptions from above to plug-in to the search bar
2. Browse the results using the pictures and/or description. Open any patents that seem relevant.
3. Don’t read the Claims! I like to go straight to the pictures, then to the abstract, then the description. Otherwise, move on.
4. Once you find something your interested in, scroll down to the bottom. You will find 2 important sections, Patent Citations and Cited By. These will link you to other similar patented products.
5. Important information to pay attention to is 1) Legal Status 2)Grant Date

You should feel confident and excited now that you have vetted your idea and scoped out the competition.

Many if not all my ideas change and evolve. Don’t panic if there is a product or patent conflict. Find a better way to meet the needs of your audience.

List BENEFITS & FEATURES

“Sell the benefits, not your company or the product. People buy results…“ — Dave McClure

The only thing better than a good product description is its product description with key benefits.

My wife and 3 kids would agree that I am not as sensitive to their feelings and emotional needs as I should be (we all have weaknesses!). So switching my brain from the technical world to the personal world requires conscious effort in the beginning.

Creating powerful benefits are the same way. You must learn how to put yourself in someones shoes and really see how your product will address their pains.

Showing features is an important step to standing out in the marketplace, but if there’s not a strong correlation to a benefit, consider removing it.

Ask yourself, how does this benefit someone’s physical state or their mental state or even their spiritual state?

Record all thoughts and ideas as quickly as possible.

Refine your list until you have the top 3 - 4 benefits and features.

1 Page Product PITCH

“ The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you’re with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.” — Seth Godin

Everything we talked about must come together to tell a story.

Let’s be honest, I am naturally shy and introverted like most engineers (something that is changing). I also tend to speak faster and say more when I am nervous.

There is safety in simplicity! I feel less nervous and more confident when I am prepared. With a simple 1 page product pitch I can convey my thoughts, ideas, and intentions so easy my 6 year old son can understand it.

Your product story should be told on a product pitch document. Everything important must fit on one page.

Keep all words in bullet format, other than your tagline and benefits statement.

White space is your friend.

This is where images and info-graphics really make a difference.

CONCLUSION

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” — Albert Einstein

Some of the aforementioned steps are not as critical and can even be skipped. Only use what adds value and makes is simple.

If a stranger can’t understand your product idea within 30 seconds of receiving your product pitch…

you have failed! Try again and again.

When I walked into the front door of a local company for the first time, I only had the name of the person I wanted to pitch my idea too. I didn’t have an appointment, I didn’t know if he was there, I didn’t even have on professional attire (hat, shorts, and sandals). None the less, I still got my idea into Home Depot!

You have to start somewhere. Start with a well thought-out idea that you can communicate as simple as possible.

Call to ACTION

If you want help to communicate your $1M idea in under 30 seconds, check out my FREE 1 Page Product Pitch Guide w/Template.

Click here to get the FREE Guide (tips, example, & Template) right now!