The Next Great Idea

"The man with a new idea is crank, until the idea succeeds" 

Mark Twain

The Wheel, Paper, The Printing Press, Small Pox Vaccine, The Zipper, The Electric Light Bulb, The Telephone, The Gas Powered Engine, The Airplane, The Elevator, Toilet Paper, The Semi-Conductor, The Radio, The Television, TV Remote Control, The Microwave Oven, The Ballpoint Pen, Duct Tape, Velcro, The Internet, The iPod..................The list goes on and on and on.

These were all great innovations that in some way changed the world. They changed the way people worked. They changed the way people act. They made people healthier.  They made the world smaller. They made our world more enjoyable.
  
But what does it take to be an innovator.  First, you have to have an idea.  Either you want to solve a problem (not wanting to sit in the dark - thank you Mr. Edison) or you want to make something better (buttoning pants is a pain - thank you Mr. Sunback for the zipper) and sometimes you come up with something new (flying like a bird would be cool - thank you Wright Brothers).  Next, and this is the most important thing, you have to have guts.  You have to be a risk taker. To be willing to take a chance, to try until you get it right and you have to take criticism; this is the hard part.  We have all come up with new ideas, but only a few of us have the guts to take it to the next step. Why is this?

The most common reason is that we don't think our idea is good or it won't make any money or we aren't willing to take the risk to get it started. Another reason is we don't know how to take the next step; who can help develop the idea (without stealing it), manufacture, market, etc.?  Once we begin thinking about all of these tasks it becomes too daunting and we give up.  The next thing you know someone else has done it without you. I should now, it has happened to me. In my professional career I spend a lot of time speaking with technology vendors and from time to time I have blurted out ideas that would make their products better or ideas for new products.  I am sure it was not the first time they have heard these ideas, but before long there it was my idea (or at least I thought it was my idea) as a new product, making some company loads of money and me with nothing but a "I should have done that" thought.


So what's the moral of the story?  First, don't be afraid to dream, if you have a good idea be a risk taker.  Write the idea down or sketch it out, talk to a few friends about your idea.  Second, make it happen.  If you think it is good then send it to a manufacturer or make a few yourself and sell them online.  Eventually it may catch on and before you know it you will be the inventor of, lets say the Super Ball (thanks Norman Stringley).

Footnote
What do you think will be the next great idea?  If you need some incouragement here are a few less known innovators who came up with ideas that made peoples lives a little better.

Benjamin Thompson - The Coffee Pot

George Crum - The Potato Chip

Ezra Warner - The Can Opener

Seth Wheeler - Toilet Paper

Carl Linde - The Refrigerator

Felix Hoffmann - Asprin

Walter H. Deubner - The Shopping Bag

Garret Morgan  - The Traffic Light

Special thanks to The Great Idea Finder for some of the inventions and inventors