FINISHING STRONG, 7: PRODUCTS

"If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making really great products, then the profits will follow." - Steve Jobs

Products

The 7th P, of Finishing Strong is PRODUCT. I believe that when God blessed the man in Genesis and said, "be fruitful, Multiply, Replenish and Subdue the Earth" He wasn’t just referring to procreation of physical, flesh and blood babies, He also referring to mind babies - Products. I believe that, for one to be able to subdue the earth, he must first be able to convert his skill, talent or gift into a product. An invention. Something marketable.

As with many innovations, the originator of 3M's sticky yellow Post-its, didn't know what he had at first. Researcher, Spence Sliver was curious about what would happen if he mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was an adhesive that would "tack" one piece of paper to another and even re-stick, without leaving any residue on the second piece of paper. The company had no use for the new adhesive until 3M's Chemist, Arthur
Fry, began having problems in the choir loft. The slips of paper he used to mark pages in his hymnal often fluttered to the floor, leaving him frantically searching for his place. Then he remembered Silver's adhesive. Fry's better bookmark soon metamorphosed into the handy Post-its that have become a fixture in offices all over the world.

It is time to convert that singing gift into an album, that writing flare into a book, or that idea into an invention. I charge you to not depart this world without a product attached to your name. It will deliver you and your generations to come out of poverty and serve humanity. There is something in you: convert it into a product.