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Aim To Please
posted by Bruce Freeman on Aug 5, 2009 | Comments (30) | Permalink | Trackback URL
Aim to Please
Some of the best products are conceived when someone finds a need and fills it .
Gentlemen: You go out one evening and have a few beers. You arrive home at about midnight, go to sleep and about 2 a.m., nature calls. You get up head for the bathroom, a bit groggy with no overhead lights.
To be as delicate as I can since the ladies are listening…let’s just say your aim is not always perfect. A few hours later, your wife, mother, sister or significant other goes to the bathroom and is not a “happy camper.”
Maybe that’s not exactly the way Bill Bradford of Burleson, Texas conceived his Johnny Light, but as a husband and father of three daughters, the engineer-inventor perceived a need and pushed forward.
More than a decade later, millions of women are grateful , since his little plastic device containing a small green LED bulb, and gravity switch which attaches to the back of the toilet seat has saved countless women from late night embarrassing splashdowns. AND along the way a lot males of all ages have learned about gender respect in the bathroom. When a gentleman lifts up the toilet seat the toilet bowl shines green and when the puts the seat down the green light turns off.
Bill struggled for years, selling the product from the trunk of his car at women’s conventions with a strong media relations effort. Thanks to a lot of word-of-mouth, has his product in more than 1,000 Home Improvement Stores. He fondly calls the Johnny Light a “domestic harmony commode-ity,” contending that it’s cheaper than a marriage counselor.
Moral of the story: Believe in your dream, envision success and dedicate your energies to a positive outcome.
And today a “bonus” moral: Always aim to please and others will be pleased with your aim.
I’m Professor Bruce. Thank you for listening.
FILED IN: Creativity & Innovation, Emotional Intelligence, Entrepreneurship, New Thinking, Marketing, Public Relations, Productivity
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Bruce,
This story is hilarious, inspiring, and well worth listening to. Thanks for sharing.
I sent three pitches for your consideration about Seattle Chocolate Company, La Panzanella gourmet Italian crackers, and one other company and hope you find them “on target” for your needs.
Thanks for the inspiration today ... and the laughs.
Nancy
I think that Bill Bradford is a genius to have invented a product like that. A lot of products that are successful are mainly the one’s that are created with the NEED in mind. That story alone had me SOLD.
On another note, a lot of people have dreams and they want to be the one who invents the “NEXT BIG THING.” The problem with that is that everyone can dream it, but majority of them don’t believe in themselves so they don’t pursue it. So what happens? Time passes by and someone else takes your idea and runs with it; now you’re looking at the next Bill Gates.
Not only should you believe in your dream, but also believe in yourself.
Thanks to Bill Bradford maybe the divorce rate will go down. Like most stories how people who invent a new product its a lot of time. Like Bill if you stick it out long enough and don’t give up someone is going to realize you got a good idea.
Believing in dreams takes a lot of focus and stubbornness. There are a lot of people out there who will constantly shoot you down. It takes a mentally strong individual to follow through with things.
This is a great blog by professor bruce. It shows that if you have a dream, proceed with the dream dont let anyone stop you. Bill Bradford created a great device that has helped people out and probably will keep marriages together.
Great blog Prof.Bruce. You always have to believe in your dream. People may tell you that you won’t make it, that you’re wasting your time. If you keep your dream in mind, have done your research and are willing to work hard, you can make it come true. No one should be stopping you from achieving your dream.
This is one of my favorite blogs yet! I live with multiple women in my household and have heard the complaints about the toilet seat and many other of the things they complain about. I should definitely tell them about this product Im sure they will grow fond of it. But this type of story just go to show you how everything around you could be the next best thing. You just need to use your vision. There are a trillion things in everyday life that could be improved, or things could be invented to improve them. It could be something as simple as a small LED light under your toilet seat or something a lot more serious. Regardless success is all around us, you just have to be able to see it and aim for it.
You have to believe in yourself and your dreams to reach success. Bill Bradford didn’t just sell this product over night he struggled over time and finally word got out. Not everything comes easy, you need motivation and persistence when it comes to achieving success.
Bill Bradford must be the most praised man in the U.S. by wives, mothers, sisters, etc. for his invention. Many women cannot get their male family members to remember to put down the seat after using the bathroom, but because of his invention of the Johnny Light, this is no longer a problem. Many people have a dream to do something but do not have to confidence to follow through with it. Bill had the confidence and believed in his invention and its a good thing he did because he may have changed the way men remember to do things.
This story made me laugh because being a male we have all done that. This product is amazing and it just goes to show how a idea so simple can be so genius. Think about things we take for granted everyday that people invented like whiteout, erasers. Little things like this make life so much easier. Bill Bradford should be the man of the year for this invention. He had the drive to succeed and woulndt take no for an answer. In this world nothing comes easy and Bill is living testament to that. If you want something in this world no one is going to give it to you, you have to go out and get it.
I am a fan of the Johnny Light I would have never know about it if I didnt take Professor Bruces class. At first I thought this was a silly product and a bad idea, but after giving it some thought, and being told an out house was being built for me if I leave the seat up again. I found myself wanting to research this product and possible buying one for my house. What I once thought was silly may help me in the long run. I think Bill Bradford should look into more ways to advertise his product. His product could make the list for the most popular product advertised
thanks professor Bruce to let us sharing your story. i like the saying “need is the mother of invention” we all very special in something not everyone can do, if we improve our abilities and our talent and put it on the right track we all will be successful.
Remember hearing this story a couple times in class Professor Bruce. This story fits my model that giviing up is a “failure state of mind”
You always have to believe in your dreams in order to achieve success. You have to please yourself in order to be happy in life. You should always keep your head up and not fail in life.
That was hilarious, In this story you can see how one idea can really be to ones advantage. There are many small ideas that people think would help your everyday life and once its been put to an effect they can make millions. For example Facebook, was just an idea a college student had thought about and now it is being used by people from all around the world to network and keep in touch with friends family and work relations! If you have your eye on the idea you can really make big things happen! Thanks for the story.
I think Bill Bradford had a good idea Im surprised no one thought of it before. This just goes to show you if you have an idea dont just dismiss it follow up on it and you never know where it might take you. Bill Bradford started selling anywhere he could out of his truck thats a very good idea especially if you dont have money to start a business or the resources to market the product.
That’s a funny story. I wonder how Bill did decide to invent the Johnny Light. The moral of the story is pretty good. The idea of a toilet light may seem ridiculous to some but if you believe in your product and don’t quit then you’ll get some good results. If you feel that there is a need for your product don’t give up because it will sell.
Great story prof bruce many times the little things go unnoticed in business, but if they are discovered they can be the key to great success.
This was so funny….. it shows how a simple little idea may be the next million dollar business. Its all about creativity and marketing.
This idea was great. Bill used everyday occurrences to come up with an idea everyone would seem useful. By going to related conventions, he utilized the demographics to help sell his product. Very smart.
You should all was believe in your dream never stop trying, no one should tell you what you can or cant do. Because, when your dream comes true you all the hard work and all the work you put your self through will be worth it.
You have to really believe your product and the general need for you product to be successful. Bill Bradford did just that. He saw a new creative need for this light bulb and put in a lot of time and effort to not only create the product but to also sell to the consumers. Since he didnt have access to large companies right away he had to go the stores and try to sell to anyone that would listen to him. In the end it all worked out since his product is now being sold in over 1,000 home improvement stores.
I think this is a great story professor Bruce. This story shows me that if you have an idea for a product to market, you should always go with your gut feeling to try to introduce that product to the public, such as the johnny light.
I think there are some stupid ideas in the world that get made into best selling products. Then there are some of greatest ideas n world that get stuck in limbo. Those ideas would never have a chance unless someone went after there dreams. Professor Bruce teaches that people should not be limit to just having a 9 to 5 job. With proper background information anyone can succced in business.
This is a funny story.Im sure that 95% of people that he told this idea to, thought it was ridiculous and discourgaged him to continue trying to sell it. I noticed how he targeted women as the main customers and who better to advertise it to than the women who are victims of men who dont “aim to please”
This is such a funny story but yet inspiring. i honestly have to say that when it comes to men and aim to please in the bathroom, we aren’t exactly trained at it. but for the most part i think it was a good invention and the fact that he stuck with the idea and never gave up on sales, his product finally launched and is probably making a lot more than he was wen he was selling it at the back of his car at women conventions
I think this story was very funny and very true. If you can think of a good product that can satisfy the need to correct or make it easier to deal with common situations then its probably a good idea. After that you just need make sure you keep trying.
this is a great story. someone should have definately thought of this idea sooner. i cant tell you how many times my mother use to gather up all the men in the house n complain about the toilet seat. maybe if i had one of these lights i wouldnt have been getting yelled at so much.
This is a great story and shows the power of having a good idea and putting it all together and profiting from it. Priceless!
It is important not to give up your dreams. It is important to pursue and be determined in what we do or believe. It is the only way to success. if we do not believe in ourselves, no one will. Only you can make yourself happy, no one else will do it for you.
What do you think?
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