"An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots."~ Charles F. Kettering
Inventors are curious and observant. They are problem-solvers who find new solutions. They come up with new ideas. Or modify old ones. Inventors are creative and tenacious, treating each failure as another step toward success.
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TRY AGAIN...
"You must never feel you have failed. You can always come back to something later, when you have more knowledge or better equipment, and try again. I've done this and it worked." ~ Gertrude Elion
The biochemist that would never quit, Gertrude Elion had 45 patents, won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988 and was the first woman inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991.
She started college at age 15, the same year she lost her beloved grandfather to cancer. "This is the disease you're going to have to work against," she told herself. "I never really stopped to think about anything else."
Elion discovered the cure for childhood leukemia. She found treatments for herpes and gout and helped developed AZT, the first drug to fight AIDS. "In my day, I was told women didn't go into chemistry," she said. "I saw no reason why we couldn't."
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NOTICE THINGS...
"Creative people seem to notice things that other people just don't notice.” ~ Stephanie Kwolek
Inventors notice things.
A woman of strength who invented strength, scientist Stephanie Kwolek invented Kevlar, the main ingredient in bulletproof vests. This polymer fiber can be found in fiber optic cables, sports equipment, space vehicles, and hundreds of other applications.
"Every person has value, no matter what you do," believed Kwolek. Creative and passionate in the quest for invention, her name appears on 17 patents, seven of them are solely hers.
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IMAGINATION AND A PILE OF JUNK...
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.” ~ Thomas A. Edison
With 1,093 patents, Thomas Edison was the king of imagination and invention. Not bad for a man with only three months of formal schooling.
"The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary," said the Wizard of Menlo Park, known for his tenacity and focus. His inventiveness changed the world.
There's a way to do it better...keep going until you find it!