How To Discover if You Are an Inventor

Say “inventor” and most people may conjure up an image of a mad scientist, locked away in his laboratory, cackling over his latest discovery as arcs of electricity fly through the air and a storm rages outside.

It is a sad and unfortunate fact that invention isn't quite that exciting. However, as both a career and a lifestyle, the path of an inventor can still be richly rewarding and fun. (Invention and innovation go hand-in-hand; most often the title is interchangeable.)

The following list will help you determine if you feel that invention is right for you.

1. Are you a problem solver? Most people are problem solvers, as life presents us with a never-ending stream of challenges and problems. The real question here is whether you enjoy it or not, if you seek out greater problems and practical challenges.

2. Can you solve problems with your hands as well as your head? The main difference between a thinker and an inventor lies in the hands-on. You may not be able to figure something out by looking at it, but once you get it in your hands, it may just solve itself.

3. Do most of your everyday items seem woefully lacking? It may be as simple as a fabric choice and button placement, or as complex as creating a new form of transportation or accomplishing strange tasks. Do you constantly feel that the items we use could be vastly improved upon?

4. Do you carry a lot of tools with you? Sewing kits, string or rope, Velcro straps and a pair of multi-tool pliers, lock pick set or metal clips...do you carry a lot of tools around with you on a daily basis?

5. Do you collect doodads? Small or large, you might suddenly be struck with the usefulness of a piece or part of an item that otherwise would have been thrown away. Have you used these things in other projects later?

6. Are you unable to follow any one skill or area of knowledge beyond basic competency? Do you find yourself drawn to study and practice a wide scope in unrelated areas of life, but once you've gained basic mastery of it, find yourself distracted by a new area? Do you use these areas of skill and knowledge often afterwards? Invention is the area of study, it would seem, that all the branches of knowledge find their root in.

7. Have you ruined a lot of your possessions and personal effects trying to “fix” them? How many items of clothing have you destroyed trying to make them work right? How many electronic items have you taken apart, even if you had no idea how they actually work? The more you disregard the implied “wholeness” of a purchased item and bend it to your will, the more likely you are an inventor.

8. Do you often wish you had more time and ability at your disposal, as there are a million things you'd like to build or improve upon? Do you often daydream about the things you might create if you only had the time?

If you answered “yes” to most of the above, odds are you are an inventor at heart. Rejoice, and go get yourself a crazy pair of goggles! Understand that lack of a drive for a “normal” profession or area of study is not a bad thing. Rather, know yourself to be gathering all the various bits of knowledge and experience you'll need to invent your inventions later on down the road. Embrace your abilities, use them to modify your surroundings to your liking, and you may find that in the process, you've created something the rest of the world can't do without.