Posted by Ian Prentice

Many of you reading this will have, at some point, had an idea. Some of these ideas have progressed to discussions. Some of these discussions have progressed to production. Sadly though, for some people this is as far as it goes. An idea that had belief, passion, energy, momentum has suddenly been placed away on a shelf gathering dust. Why is this? We tell ourselves that “People just didn’t get it.” Scientific thinking suggests that we attach ourselves to an answer, well more our answer and if that answer isn’t what your product does, then people don’t want it. Unless you can convince them otherwise. Could you change their answer? Could you change their point of view? I suppose it depends on how much you truly believe in it. In 1923 WH Murphy invented the bulletproof vest. Something that today we take for granted, imagine back then. Some guy is saying that if you wear this vest then it will stop a bullet at close range. Yes, a bullet! Fired from a gun! An article of clothing will stop it! You can imagine the conversations, “Nice idea, if not a little crazy, but tell me Mr Murphy who are you going to get to be the guinea pig?” You can’t imagine that they were queuing up to volunteer can you. What happened next, for whatever reason, is not well known to most. Mr WH Murphy, put on his invention and invited a police officer to shoot him. Yes, shoot him with .38 pistol. In the chest. Thankfully it worked. Even though there are no official records of the police actually buying the vests, it is widely accepted that WH Murphy invented the bulletproof vest which has now become the Kevlar rendition our police and armed forces wear today. He totally believed in his product, you could say he was prepared to put his life on the line to show it, to convince and influence people, so that their answer was the one he wanted to hear. So, next time you have an idea, don’t let it gather dust or be consigned to distant memory, put everything into it, believe in it totally, do whatever it takes to convince to get the answer that you want.