I learned the value of creation when I was a boy. I think it all started with my Uncle Bob. He was my Cub Scout master and a believer in people’s human potential. He was also one of those guys who could build just about anything with his hands. One of the things I found the most interesting about growing up around him was his positive attitude. He was a firm believer in the notion, “If you can think of it, you can make it.” It’s interesting because, as time ticks on, I’m finding that believing in yourself and what you’re creating is the inventor’s secret ingredient.

It’s not always easy to be positive because there’s always a critic around the corner; it may be a parent, a teacher, a spouse or a friend. And when we trust them with our deepest thoughts and ideas we expose so much of ourselves to criticism, and some creative people may never recover. This blog is for all of you out there who keep the faith and keep strong in the face of opposition when it confronts you or confronts your idea. Remember, those closest to you are one type of critic, and the other is the competition to your idea. They will use their political influence to criticize your idea in hopes that they will stop you or tire you out. By the way, if this is happening to you let me be the first to congratulate you. Your idea is becoming so successful that it threatens their position in the world. So, smile at their attempt to criticize and let it give you inner strength and more desire in your heart to succeed.

One of my mentors always said, “I never want to sail the open seas with a captain who has only had calm seas.” Experience in difficult and challenging situations is of more value than most people realize. The experienced creative people, like Edison, Ford and Disney, knew when they were becoming successful. Their ideas were forcing change and that’s never easy for those entrenched in the way things are currently done. The battles between Edison and Westinghouse, the zipper and Velcro, and more, are well documented. So know your history because it will guide you, and always believe in yourself and what you’re creating; it truly is the inventor’s secret ingredient.  

As with all professions, there are basic building blocks that provide the foundation upon which everything else is built. If you’ve selected creating as the thing you like to do, then you already know this to be true.

For example, someone who loves to make clay pots and is always creating them knows that over time their skills get better. Practice makes perfect, in other words. The act of inventing something also requires constant work at creating all the different facets of the invention in order to make it into a new product.

First, there’s the creation of the idea, and the more brainstorming you do, the better you get at it. Then, there’s the creation of concept models, and the more you do of that, the better you get at it. There’s the creation of best manufacturing methods to make the product, and the more you do, the better you get at it. The more you create engineering, photography and graphics for packaging, and packages to store shelf quality the better you get at those. But that’s not all – the more you negotiate with corporations and work at forming good relationships with companies, the better you get at those, as well.

If you take all those things and wrap them up into one big bundle, the better you get at inventing new products. The ABC’s of inventing is to be creating all the time in any of those areas. The skill sets required to become proficient in all of them are truly hard to find. It’s kind of like the famous artists of the world whose paintings hang in museums. After a lifetime of working on the ABCs, every work of art they’ve created is in demand.

Now that we have created more products that are in the stores than anyone else, we have broken new ground and made history; but we never take our eyes off the ABC’s. Each product we design – whether for ourselves, corporations or the individuals who hire us – gets treated like a work of art by skilled artisans with intense dedication who are always focusing on those ABC’s, project after project.

Here’s a true story, and it happened to me this weekend. I was at a family reunion with a 90-year-old relative who has hour upon hour of entertaining life stories to tell. Her travels were extensive; the people she had met included some of the world’s most complex political leaders faced with massive challenges and personal attacks. Her stories ranged from what life in America was like 90 years ago, when the candlestick telephone was the latest innovation, to how she now uses email as a communication tool.

It’s so telling to sit down and listen to someone who has all these years of wisdom and watch people gather around just to hear her speak. Our ancestors really had it right when they put the oldest people into positions of leadership and teaching of the younger folks. The challenge is to find someone who’s older who has truly lived a compelling life.

For some reason I have always been drawn to people like this. It seems young people just want to get on with things, but don’t really understand all the ins and outs of how the human race operates; as a result they make more mistakes then necessary. Why is it most young people or people who are doing things for the first time don’t seek wisdom from those who are older or more experienced? Common sense says, if you can find a guide who’s been there before or had a life experience that can help you in some way before you start out on your new adventure, you should seek their counsel.

I enjoy being around older people; they’re not trying to prove something to the world, money is of no real importance, influence is of no real importance – they simply want to share with you, if you’re willing to listen … and their wisdom is wonderful.

Similarly, we don’t have all the answers, but we do have the experience. For over 20 years, inventing is all we’ve done; and when people are willing to listen and trust us, we do everything we can and use all of our experience to help.