So a while back I saw this weird looking thing being advertised everywhere.
It’s that thing at the top of this page.
At first, I was captivated … it looked like the ultimate gadget.
And then, on closer inspection, I realised it literally did nothing.
That’s right …
No wifi.
No bluetooth.
No nothing.
Just a bunch of buttons and balls to press, roll and click.
Seriously, who would need this shit?
People with game controller addiction?
People with pen clicking obsession?
People with nothing better to do?
And then I saw the manufacturers had created this terrible video to help explain things …
Look, I know the ‘fidget cube’ is relatively cheap … but contrary to the video’s claims, ‘fidgeting’ is not actually an addiction and so you have to ask if people really need something like this over – say – ‘tapping their foot’ repeatedly.
So I bought one.
And you know what … it’s fucking amazing.
I know … I know … my taste is hardly the barometer for mass acceptance, but remember, I am saying positive things about something that literally has no wifi, bluetooth or web access and I’m a guy that has bought robot balls and a mug that will digitally tell me what I’m drinking even though I CAN TASTE WHAT I AM DRINKING.
I’ve bought loads of them now.
In multiple colours.
And while that may make me look a fucking idiot, the fact is there’s a valuable lesson in all this.
No, it’s not that ‘Rob spends his money on tat’ [though that is also a learning] it’s the fact that if someone had told me about it, I’d have dismissed it as ridiculous.
An over-engineered solution to a problem that isn’t really a problem.
And yet the reality is, I didn’t just buy it … I use it all the time and I truly feel it has helped me focus more.
I know that sounds mad and I swear I have no commercial interests in it … but on top of everything, it reinforced a lesson I have continually pushed upon The Kennedys, which is never kill an idea until you’ve tried it.
Never.
Not just because you may find it actually could end up being something awesome, but even if it doesn’t, it often opens up doors of opportunity you never would have seen before.
The older I get, the more I realise ‘try before you kill’ is one of the most important lessons you can learn.
Especially for planners.
Especially for planners who want to help create something that can change something.
Even if it ends up being something people ridicule.
Until they try it.