IT’S “A STICK-TO-IT-IVNESS STORY! ONE DAY BACK IN 1948, A MACHINE SHOP MANAGER AND INVENTOR NAMED GEORGE DE MESTRAL WENT ON A HIKE WITH HIS DOG, FOR EXERCISE NEAR HIS HOME IN THE SWISS ALPS. AFTER THE ONE HOUR PLUS WALK, HE AND HIS DOG CAME BACK COVERED WITH BURRS. AT FIRST HE WAS ANNOYED AS HE HAD TO PLUCK THEM OFF OF HIM AND HIS DOG WITHOUT STICKING HIMSELF. BUT, SUDDENLY A THOUGHT CAME TO GEORGE,…HE WONDERED WHAT MADE THEM STICK SO WELL TO CLOTH, HIS CLOTHING??? SO, PLACING A “BURR” AS THEY’RE KNOW, UNDER HIS MICROSCOPE, HE SAW SMALL HOOKS THAT BURROWED INTO THE LITTLE LOOPS WITHIN THE CLOTHING FABRIC. WELL, IT WAS HERE THAT THE “IDEA” OF A “HOOK AND LOOP FASTENER” WAS BORN. BUT, BELIEVE ME FOLKS, THIS IS WHERE THE REAL WORK AND COMMITMENT BEGAN! GEORGE DE MESTRAL SET OUT FOR LYON, FRANCE, TO PRESENT THE CONCEPT TO TEXTILE EXPERTS. THEY LAUGHED AT HIM. YES!!!! YOU HEARD ME CORRECTLY. THEY ACTUALLY LAUGHED IN HIS FACE. BUT THAT WASN’T ENOUGH TO DETER OLE’ GEORGE. HE BELIEVED IN HIS IDEA WITH ALL OF HIS HEART. EVENTUALLY ONE WEAVER TOOK AN INTEREST IN GEORGE DE MESTRAL’S IDEA. THE TWO BEGAN WORKING TOGETHER AND SUCCEEDED IN PRODUCING A WORKABLE PROTOTYPE. IT WAS GEORGE’S PASSION AND ENTHUISIAM THAT SO INTRIGUED AND IGNITED THE WEAVER TO GIVE IT A SHOT AND WORK WITH GEORGE. WITHIN A COUPLE OF MONTHS THEY PRODUCED A WORKABLE PROTOTYPE. GEORGE MESTRAL THEN FOUND A SWISS LOOM MANUFACTURER WHO AGREED TO MANUFACTURED THEIR PRODUCT. BUT IT PROVED TO BE TOO DIFFICULT, AND EVENTUALLY THE MANUFACTURER GAVE UP ON THE IDEA AND GAVE UP ON GEORGE! SO NOW, GEORGE WAS BASICALY FORCED TO TAKE ON THE TASK AND DREAM, HIS DREAM ALONE. FOR MANY, MANY MONTHS, HE CARRIED OUT VARIOUS EXPERIMENTS. BUT THE MONTHS JUST WENT BY AND STILL NO SOLUTION, AND NO, “ZERO” SUPPORT! AT THIS POINT GEORGE LOST ALL OF HIS BACKER’S SUPPORT. NO BODY STUCK WITH HIM. HE WENT BROKE! OUT OF DESPERATION AD EXHAUSTION, GEORGE RETREATED FOR MANY MONTHS IN A MOUNTAIN CABIN TO THINK THE PROBLEM OVER. HE DIDN’T GIVE UP, HE JUST KNEW THAT HE NEEDED TO THINK IT OVER, AND BEGIN AGAIN. AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS, IN SECLUSION IN THE MOUNTAINS, HE RETURNED TO HIS HOMETOWN AND IMMEDIATLEY RECONTACTED HIS FRIEND THE WEAVER TO DISCUSS AND PITCH HIM A NEW APPROACH THAT HE ABSOLUTLEY WAS CONVINCED WOULD WORK FOR HIS INVENTION. SO, ONCE AGAIN HIS PASSION, COMMITMENT, AND ENTHUSIASM ONE OVER THE WEAVER AND THE TWO OF THEM, THIS TIME, BUILT FROM SCRATCH A SPECIAL LOOM THAT WORKED!! THIS TIME A MAJOR INVESTOR AGREDD TO FINANCE THE ENTIRE VENTURE. GEORGE DE MESTRAL DECIDED TO NAME THE NEW FASTENER “VELCRO.” THE “VEL” FOR VELVET, AND THE “CRO” FOR CROCHET!! GET IT?? THE REST IS HISTORY FOLKS. IN 1955 HE PATENTED VELCRO AND BY 1959 WAS SELLING MORE THAN 60 MILLION YARDS OF THE MATERIAL PER YEAR. A HUGE AMOUNT FOR 1959. CURRENTLY, HIS COMPANY, THE COMPANY AND IDEA THAT GEORGE BELIEVED IN WHEN NO ONE ELSE DID, DID OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IN SALES AND EMPLOYEES OVER 3,300 PEOPLE. THINK ABOUT HOW AWESOME AND MAJOR THAT IS!! BECAUSE GEORGE HAD THE FORSIGHT AND FORTITUDE TO STICK WITH HIS IDEA AND NOT GET DISCOURAGED, HIS LITTLE IDEA THAT COME FROM A WALK WITH HIS DOG, NOW SUPPORTS OVER 3,300 PEOPLE AND THERE FAMILIES. GEORGE DE MESTRAL’S YEARS, EIGHT TOTAL OF PERSERVERENCE PAID OFF HANDSOMELY, WOULD’NT YOU AGREE?????????