Innovation doesn’t come easy, and it certainly doesn’t come to everyone, but there are some common traits & characteristics that every successful inventor throughout history, as well as current times, possess – traits that help drive their success and enable them to give us something that, perhaps, no one else had even imagined before.
Vision
Inventors are inspired by something that is yet to be discovered or created. They have a vision that extends beyond their everyday lives and what they know; they have a vision that nobody else can see. They want more and they push the boundaries to achieve it.
Passion
Contrary to what may be common belief, any real inventor is not in it for the money. What drives them is something very different – a desire to solve a problem, to make something easier or better for themselves or others, or do something that has never been done before. This is the purpose that drives their passion; and it’s this passion that keeps them constantly driving toward their goal – no matter how many failures or frustrations they experience along the way.
Tenacity
The famous saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is a perfect fit for the inventor personality type. They are not put off in the least by difficulties or obstacles. They accept failure and simply learn from their mistakes. They don’t consider any other option but to keep on going until they succeed.
Adaptability
Any successful inventor will be able to tell you that their final product rarely matches their first idea. A brilliant idea may not be effective or workable in reality. Inventors must possess the adaptability to adjust and tweak their idea until it becomes something that actually works.
Competitiveness
Every successful entrepreneur or inventor is born with not only a love for, but an absolute need to win. In fact, a challenge is, to them, simply a means to an end. Because of their competitive spirit, they are willing to continually compete on whatever level they can to be at the top and to push, and keep pushing until they reach their goal.
