Thirteen Steps to Become a Successful Inventor/Innovator

Not everybody is born with a golden spoon.

So, for the rest of us, simple mortals yet with the fire to become successful.

As I remarked in my previous post, we must nurture qualities that eventually will lift us off to the stars: Ambition, Curiosity, Imagination, Passion, and Vision.

Yet, if you have decided (because it’s a decision you must make) to become a successful inventor or an innovator, you must follow steps crucial to the success of your venture. Each of these steps has an explanation, a history, and results. Nonetheless, you are solely responsible for researching and putting them into practice. Your research will show that most great innovators follow these principles.

These steps are not my invention but a compendium of the wisdom of great minds and fortunes who preceded me.

Follow these steps, and you will become a successful innovator if a successful innovator is what you want to become.

1)    Think socially.

2)    On this basis, rethink or create a need.

3)    Invent an item around this need.

4)    It must be an item that people use constantly.

5)    It must be an item that people buy, use, discard, and buy again.

6)    It must be an item people cannot live without.

7)    Modify it according to your vision if it is already in the market.

8)    Make it with recyclable materials.

9)    Surround yourself with people who follow your interest.

10) Don’t listen to negative people.

11) Don’t ever get discouraged.

12) Don’t be afraid to try.

13) If it doesn’t work, rethink, redefine, and retry.

And when I say “item,” it can be anything, like a character, as in Barbie, for example, or a service, like in Amazon, or a device, like the iPhone. In sum, the thing you invent must solve a natural or created need. Better if the item, or the need you create, hatches other needs, as in the examples above.

Did I follow these steps? Not all of them, though. Once upon a time, before becoming passionate about writing, philosophy, and poetry, I was obsessive about inventions. Thomas Alva Edison was my idol. So, following steps 1 to 8, I designed one item. Many years later, this item became of everyday use in the market. The success wasn’t mine, though. Someone else took the idea and brought it to fruit. Why it wasn’t mine, the success, I mean? Because I didn’t follow steps 9 to 13.

You are welcome to debate. You may agree or disagree, and most importantly, I invite you to comment on the subject, which I feel delighted to present.

All the best on your journey.