Well, again, it’s been quite awhile since I last wrote. I have so much going on right now. As you know I’ve been trying to make inventing my career as opposed to working all day and then coming home to work all night on my ideas. Well, it’s slowly starting to pay off and the reason for that is that I communicate and work with others both here on the site and at my various jobs I’ve held.

I know as inventors we learn very quickly that we have to keep our ideas secret…we can’t tell anyone, we can’t discuss them because if we do someone is going to steal them. There is truth in that statement but it is also misleading. It makes it sound like if you even mention a tidbit of your idea that the person you are telling is going to run off take it and make millions.

I hate to say it but even if you gave someone every detail of your idea with drawings, schematics and everything 9 out of 10 times they will never do a thing with it because it would be too much of an effort or believe it or not they have some morals and character and they know it’s your idea.

If we as inventors never talk to anyone, never bounce our ideas off other people, we will waste time and go down roads we never should. See my “The invention that never should have been” blog for a great example of this. Yes, even I do it sometimes.

I guess what I’m saying is that as an inventor you need to be in the know. You need to listen to people and what they need. You need to identify problems which you can work to solve. How do you do all this? You talk, you ask questions, you join the conversation.

If you just hang out on EN and read the posts but never make any posts of your own you gain some inkling of what is going on out there but you never really get it because you are an observer not a participant. You need to dive in and talk, listen and respond. Take a look at the site and there are certain people who stand out. I can list 5 or six right off the bat without even thinking. I won’t here because I didn’t ask if I could but I’m sure you too know who is posting, who is talking and what certain people on this site are about. Those are the people who can help you. None of the ones I can think of have ever posted a thing about their inventions but they do ask about things. They also will help other inventors.

I personally answer every email I get from people from this site. I do my best to help people succeed and it makes me feel good that I have some knowledge to share and that I may be helping others with their dreams. If we would all do that can you imagine the potential?

Through my interactions both on this site and during my career I’ve made some pretty cool friends. People that can help me and that want to help me because I’ve helped them. There are a few key people I met through EN that I actually do share some of my ideas with. I trust them. They earned it just as I’ve earned their trust because we all want to help each other and want each other to succeed here.

When I first start an LPS I usually list out 3 or 4 concepts and I do just enough sketching and writing to be able to relay the most basic idea to another. 9 times out of 10 I’ll bounce those ideas off at least one person from here that I trust to get their opinion and any suggestions they may have. I then don’t waste time entering all 4 and I focus on the 1 or the 2 that really have potential. I sometimes even get a suggestion that makes it way better than what I came up with on my own.

If you want your ideas to fly they first have to walk. I walk them over to a select group of “inventing friends”. Afterwards the one that survives is usually moving along at a good jog. You need to develop a network of friends that can help you, that want to help you. It really helps to push your ideas to the next level. If it’s just you sitting at a computer for hours on end you will overlook something or you will waste time on concepts that quite frankly never should have been.

Bottom line is that you should use your resources. EN is a huge resource but it’s not just the site itself it’s the people here.

My example of how this can work is that I’ve gained the trust of people that are opening some doors for me and giving my opportunities I never would have had if I had holed up somewhere and didn’t share my concepts at least a little.

My former boss is at a new company and they are looking for ideas. She brought my name up and told her boss about me, my inventing and this site. She actually showed him the site and explained it to him and then talked about me and how I made it onto the show. I also worked on some concepts when we were coworkers that she also expounded upon.

A second co-worker of mine from that previous job also put in a very good word for me and my ability to conceptualize and think out of the box. They both did this independently of each other. I was a graphic designer there. It had nothing to do with inventing but I shared some of my ideas with them to get their opinions. Now they’ve opened a door for me to present ideas directly to a major retailer and the president of that company is actually asking about me and wanting to know what I charge to come up with ideas.

That is an opportunity that I never would have been given if I was running around saying Don’t Peek!

I have also developed a relationship with one of the owners of a Chinese factory that I worked with on projects in the past at that same company. I’ve contacted him outside of that job and mentioned some of my ideas. He too is very interested and wants to work with me. Again I showed him a couple of ideas. Nothing he’d ever be interested in, but he saw the potential. I know we’ll do something together at some point when the timing is right I’m just not at the point where I could fund it. The glitch in that deal is that I have the ideas, he has the ability to produce the products but we do not have a way to sell or market them. So all you people out there, open up share a little and join our team! We need someone to market some of our ideas!

Inventing can be a dark dangerous secretive place and it can also be a very rewarding place. Take a little time, pick and choose what to share and what not to share. The trick is to share just enough to peak their interest and let them know that you know what you are doing. If you can do that you just might get something in return.

So talk, share and help one another and see where it goes.