Page 138 - The Business Idea Factory: A World-Class System for Creating Successful Business Ideas

Be persistent. Creative thinking is a marathon

In 1979 James Dyson bought one of the most advanced vacuum cleaners on the market, and after
using it got frustrated with how quickly it clogged and began losing suction. James got excited about
this problem and decided, “I will design a vacuum cleaner that will clean the house more effectively.”

Par tly suppo r ted by the salar y o f his wife, who wo r ked as an ar t teacher, and par tly by bank lo ans,
James spent almo st 5 year s wo r king o n his vacuum cleaner desig n and after 5,126 failed pr o to types
eventually created a working version of a dual-cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.

James realized that no company in the UK wanted to buy his technology or collaborate in
manufacturing his vacuum cleaner, and retailers were reluctant to sell the product of an unknown
brand. After generating many more interesting business ideas about how to overcome these obstacles,
James first launched his vacuum cleaner through catalogue sales in Japan where it became incredibly
successful. In a few years, the Dyson vacuum cleaner became one of the most desirable household
appliances worldwide and James Dyson became a billionaire.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, James was asked if he ever wanted to give up. And here is
what he replied: “I wanted to give up almost every day. But one of the things I did when I was young
was long distance running, from a mile up to ten miles. They wouldn’t let me run more than ten miles
at school – in those days they thought you’d drop down dead or something. And I was quite good at it,
not because I was physically good, but because I had more determination. I learned determination
from it.

“More particularly, I learned that the moment you want to slow down is the moment you should
accelerate. In long distance running, you go through a pain barrier. The same thing happens in
research and development projects, or in starting any business. There’s a terrible moment when
failure is staring you in the face. And actually if you persevere a bit longer you’ll start to climb out of
it.”

Of course in the majority of cases great thinkers don’t encounter as many failures and difficulties as
James Dyson did but they are all creative “long distance” runners. If you say to yourself, “I am in
business for a long time, I am ready to endure frustrations and persist in creating and testing ideas on
the way to achieving my dream,” you are destined to have enormous success.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. – Bill Gates