What This Cardboard Robot Can Teach You about Life

Szen Szen
3 min readApr 5, 2019

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http://www.tweenbots.com/

Sam is a Tweenbot — a permanent part of the MoMA exhibit in New York.
We can learn something about the art of world travel, and of life from Sam. To do so, let’s first watch this 3 minute video.

1) First, declare your destination!

Sam the Tweenbot just picked a destination — okay, his programmer picked a destination — but let’s say that Sam was the one who picked it. He didn’t care if it was the best spot in Washington square, it was just a spot. The point was to see what would happen to him along the way, and how or if he would get there. But more importantly, what interesting and unexpected things would occur along the way. It could have been any destination, and these things would have happened to him.

2) Next, make your destination clear! And keep it fixed!

If Sam had changed his destination from the Southeast corner to the Southwest corner to the Central Square based on what seemed to be happening to him in the moment, he would just be going around in circles. While this is also a kind of travel, doesn’t it seem more satisfying to have a clear beginning and end to a journey? Wouldn’t it make for a better story to have this kind of structure to the travel? Wouldn’t Sam have more internal consistency? Wouldn’t he have the same request to present to everyone who met him? Wouldn’t he be better remembered by those who did help him to his goal?

3) Accept the help you get!

It may not be the help you were expecting, but it is help that you need because you aren’t going to reach your goal by yourself. The point of Sam’s journey is to see who he can get involved along the way. He is not equipped to reach his goal himself. In fact, if he had the power and means to get to his destination by himself, then that would be a different kind of story. It would be more like a race story than a travel story. What kind of story are you looking to live? If you live the travel story, you might end up going in the opposite direction of your destination once in awhile because of some help you received. But that’s ok, because as long as your goal is simple, and clearly stated, someone will point you in the right direction, and then someone else, and someone else.

So, be simple, direct, and open about your goals. Don’t hide your aspirations away where people have to pry to see them. You are less likely to get help that way! And less likely to have adventures. State your goal in a way that evokes curiosity from others. Just like Sam, wear your destination on a big flag over your head where anyone passing by can see it! Put it in a way that makes it easier for people to help you on your way! Ask the Sam way: “Please help me to go (here).”

People love to help if it is easy and fun, and a little bit mysterious and whimsical, and adds something wondrous to their day. People love to put in their little bit to help accomplish something. They don’t have to understand your goal. In fact, you don’t even have to understand your goal. At the start, you just need to have one, and the rest will unfold along the way.

http://www.tweenbots.com/

Originally published on livingleftunlabeled.blogspot.com, June 22, 2014

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Szen Szen
Szen Szen

Written by Szen Szen

Solar-powered Storyteller | Making the invisible visible | No story too small | Berlin — Montreal

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