I love gadgets. You can imagine how excited I got when the ThinkGeek Overlords sent me an email this morning featuring the first ever Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard.
It’s a tiny device that laser projects a keyboard onto any flat surface. You then type on that projected image and your words are picked up by Bluetooth and sent to your SmartPhone or PDA. Think of it as an interactive hologram.
Is it a hoax?
Maybe.
But I wanted one.
Now.
So I shot over to http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/8193/
And that’s where my throbbing heart sank.
That’s where I saw yet another company make a common marketing mistake.
They promoted the gadget (real or not) before it was ready to ship.
There are no devices in stock.
Not only that, but ThinkGeek doesn’t even allow me to pre-order the darn thing. (Note: They do, now. They changed their site after I posted this blog this morning.)
Talk about disappointment.
It gets worse.
As I reviewed the specs for the Bluetooth Virtual Desktop Laser Keyboard gadget, I saw that my Blackberry 8700C phone isn’t listed as one of the devices it works with. So even if the keyboard projector is real, and was in stock, and I got one, it would be virtually useless to me.
Listen and learn: Don’t market anything before its time (unless it’s clear that the product isn’t ready for order and you’re just building a buzz for it).
And if this whole thing is a hoax, then it’s not very funny.
Disappointed customers bitch and moan and end up complaining to others — even on their blogs.
Ao Akua,
PS – The device is real and this company sells it and they say it is compatible with my Blackberry: http://www.laser-keyboard.com/compatibility.asp
PPS – I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect Lindsay Lohan is now using a prescription medication for asthma called Advair. How do I know? Her voice is changing. I used the same prescription for a few months and noticed my voice changed, as well. A friend of mine uses Advair every day and I can hear his voice getting hoarse. I think the medication makes Linday’s voice huskier and sexier. But I’d rather see her get off all meds and find a natural cure for asthma. She might consider the Buteyko Method. http://www.buteyko.com/ I care about you, Lindsay.
Last Sunday (Palm Sunday) I spoke at the local Unity church about the real secret to attracting wealth.
I’m not one of those prosperity preachers who offers simple spells for manifestation or a prosperity prayer to the poor, but I do know a thing or two about the universal law of attraction.
After all, I did write the book, The Attractor Factor. www.attractorfactor.com
And I am in the movie, The Secret. www.whatisthesecret.tv
So I took a risk and told the standing-room only crowd two reasons why they may be experiencing lack.
One of the reasons was pretty “in your face” but needed to be discussed by someone.
That someone was me.
Apparently I hit a nerve that was ready to heal. My talk moved people to tears, smiles, and even applause – in a cool country church on a sunny Texas day.
You can hear the whole thing — including a short prosperity meditation and a healing session (led by me) — by going to – www.unityofwimberley.com/archive.htm
Hey, maybe I am one of those prosperity preachers, after all.
Expect Miracles.
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS – I love my Pirolette from www.turnyourhead.com so much that I brought it to my talk. I used it as a type of “show and tell” to invite people to see what they normally don’t see. They loved it. The photo above is of me and my Pirolette. See how it’s like a puzzle piece that fits my face? Somehow the Pirolette is a prosperity prayer in wood. I sure prefer it over the controversial Britney Spears sculpture in the news right now http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4856508.stm
A reader in Bali just told me that they have a “Nyepi Day” in March.
Yea, I never heard of it, either.
Turns out it is a type of new year’s celebration but instead of getting rowdy, they get silent.
For 24 hours no one is allowed on the street. There are no activities. No lights, either. Nuttin.
Apparently it is a big hit in that culture http://www.indo.com/culture/nyepi.html
I can’t help but think we all need a Nyepti Day. We turn off the phone, the computer, the fax, the radio, the TV, the ipod, the games, and we shut up.
We just get quiet and tune in.
So many of us lead noisy lives inside and outside of ourselves that we’ve forgotten the bliss of peace and quiet.
I vote to start a Nyepti Day online.
Tomorrow works for me.
How about you?
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS – Do you want a new car? See www.Attractanewcar.com I’m astonished by what people are attracting using the lessons offered on that site. A new car is just one possibility. If you could have anything, what would you want? (Be honest.)
Several people said they couldn’t see my profile in the photo of the “optical illusion sculpture” I posted here yesterday. This edited picture is to help those people out.
Hopefully they can now see the optical illusion in my Pirolette (the name of the clever wooden sculpture created by the wonderful people at www.turnyourhead.com)
The Pirolette is, as the Turn Your Head website explains in all caps —
“…A SOLID ARTIFACT OF A SPACE WE FORGET TO LOOK AT. “
I love my little Pirolette. Not only does it look good sitting anywhere I put it, but every time I see my profile in that “space we forget to look at,” I smile.
I also like what it teaches about perception: Look at it one way and you see a wooden sculpture; look at it another way and you see my profile.
I think it’s just like life: You can see the glass as half full or as half empty. The glass doesn’t care.
It’s all your choice.
What do you see when you look around your life?
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS – If you haven’t seen the movie The Secret yet – which stars Esther Hicks/Abraham, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, John Assaraf, me and a long list of other authors and teachers – then zip over to www.whatisthesecret.tv This inspiring movie is sure to help awaken you to seeing new possibilities and opportunities everywhere — even in blocks of wood.
PPS – This morning I received a warm email from Germany, from Cortney Langenegger, Sales Manager/Webmaster for www.turnyourhead.com She wanted to thank me for yesterday’s blog post — apparently it’s bringing their site lots of traffic — and she wanted to apologize for not sending me an email confirmation when I placed my order. I love that she wrote me and plan on buying more from their site. (I want to get a Pirolette for Nerissa. Don’t tell her!) You can’t beat a business that offers a unique product and personal service, as well. Note: Mother’s Day is coming up. Get a Pirolette for her of either your profile or hers – or both. (I don’t make a dime from urging you to get the product. I just – as should be clear by now – love it.)
Take a good look at the picture…
Is that a beautiful hand-carved wooden sculpture, or is it my profile?
I love creativity. You never know what someone is going to invent that the rest of us will rush to buy.
A while back I heard about a company that takes a photo of your head’s profile and turns it into a wooden sculpture.
I thought it was a wild idea but I’ve always loved optical illusions (and wild ideas). Plus my parents had my baby shoes set in bronze back in 1954. I thought having my face set in wood in 2006 might be cool.
So I had Nerissa take a picture of my head from the side, and I sent it over to www.turnyourhead.com/
I had to let go and trust at that point, because I never heard from the company about my order until today — when it arrived. That’s a photo of it above.
It’s the classic optical illusion: At first glance it looks like a vase. But relax your eyes and look a little longer and you begin to see the profile. (Hint: Look at the outline of the sculpture. The deepest part of the center of it is my nose. Yes, my nose.)
Once your brain sees both images, you’ll easily see either one from that point forward.
Maybe marketing is like that.
Once you take on the eyes of a marketer, a new part of your brain awakens and you begin to see marketing opportunities everywhere.
The people at http://www.turnyourhead.com/ once saw wood. They now see ghostly profiles in wood. And most likely they are seeing lots of orders, as well.
Don’t you love it?
Ao Akua,
Joe
www.mrfire.com
PS – A great way to begin to awaken your mind to marketing possibilities is by soaking up my Nightingale-Conant audioprogram, The Power of Outrageous Marketing. Search for it at www.nightingale.com It’s been a popular educational and inspiring program for about seven years now. I’m proud of it, too. Hey, maybe I’ll have it set in wood.
PPS – Grab your dog and listen up: I just read Cesar Millan’s book, Cesar’s Way: The Natural Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems. I love watching Cesar on his National Geographic Channel TV show, Dog Whisperer. This guy looks, acts and exudes pack leader behavior. No wonder all dogs fall in line whenever he appears. Even Hollywood stars are following him. He sends out an invisible message that he’s the boss. I don’t know if Cesar has read my book The Attractor Factor but he sure knows about the power of intention. His book, his show, and his message, are terrific. His site is www.cesar-millan.com/ or www.cesarmillaninc.com/ Go fetch it! Good girl!