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Life’s Problem Solvers: Duct Tape and WD40

Guest post by: Chellie Campbell

Article Overview: “All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape. And if it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40.”—Unknown

Life’s Problem Solvers: Duct Tape and WD40

“All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape. And if it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40.”—Unknown

This quote makes me laugh every time I think of it. It’s a great image that really can be applied to life: you need duct tape to keep you on purpose in your life; to stick to your guns, stick to your ideals, stick to your goals. You need WD40 to get you up and moving; to get out of bed in the morning, to get you to the gym, get you “out of the box.”
Distinguishing when you need to use duct tape and when you need to use WD40 is vitally important. Many businesses have failed because they didn’t see a new product or technology on the rise and stuck to the old way of doing things playing it safe. Just like food kept in the refrigerator long past it’s expiration date, sometimes people stay in jobs, neighborhoods, or relationships beyond their fruitfulness. When the ship is sinking, it’s appropriate to “jump ship!”
Then again, it’s very important to use that duct tape and stay the course—you don’t want to give up on your dream just before it’s fulfilled. Maybe the next ship you send out is the one that will bring home the treasure, so heed the cry: “Don’t give up the ship!”
The creator of the copier machine took his new invention to Kodak first. The copier is a kind of camera, so it seemed a natural connection. However, the Kodak executives rejected it—after all, they had better quality photographic equipment already. They just didn’t see the business application of the invention. So the inventor went to Xerox and that’s why we Xerox documents rather than Kodak them. The Kodak executives had too much duct tape holding them to their known business model—they needed a squirt or two of WD40 to rouse them to act on a new idea. The inventor had plenty of WD40, which helped him create a new business machine, and enough duct tape to refuse to give up in the face of rejection.
So how do you know “when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em”? You use the duct tape and stick to your goals as long as you passionately believe in them and are committed to the process of making them happen. When you enjoy the pursuit of the dream, whether or not it is realized. When your intuition tells you to keep going. And most of all, when you know that you will succeed because you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
Behind every “overnight sensation” there were years of study, failed attempts, more learning, small successes, and dogged persistence. Lots of duct tape. This is the path of achievement, and every successful person walks it. Succeed or fail, your passion and commitment to your purpose will be the WD40 that moves and inspires you to get up each day, excited about the new possibilities today will bring. If you enjoy your dream and each daily activity, you’ll be happy, and that will mean you are a success every day of your life.

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Article Tags: business application, business machine, business model, copier machine, duct tape, expiration date, fruitfulness, guns, inventor, jobs, kodak, new business, new invention, photographic equipment, refrigerator, rejection, relationships, squirt, wd40, xerox



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