Who hasn’t said it? But how few have acted on their ideas?

A survey by Knight-Ridder newspapers found the odds that an American believes he has a good idea for an invention is 1 in 3. If you’ve seen ‘The American Inventor’ television series, you realize that some peoples’ belief in their invention ideas may be misplaced! But let’s assume, that 1 in 25 do have a worthy idea. How many ever get their ideas to market? How many are successful?

Many fine products lie around gathering dust in a disinterested marketplace until entrepreneurs and marketers arrive – and they make all the money; the inventor gets but crumbs. This is neither fair or unfair. It is simply the truth about what must be done to be financially rewarded for a great idea.

Thomas Edison holds the records for the most patents held: 1,093. But Thomas Edison was NOT just an inventor, he was an entrepreneur and a master salesman and an often criticized, aggressive promoter.

Most inventors are none of these things and want nothing to do with them. Instead, they hope their idea alone will be sufficient; that someone else will step in, to invest, risk, promote; that they’ll be paid for doing nothing more but coming up with the idea itself.

And 99% are bitterly disappointed. That is just not how the world works.

The cliché is true: ideas are a dime a dozen. Every single time someone has brought me a “revolutionary” and “unique” idea for a product, I’ve been able to reach to a shelf or go into my storage rooms and find ten others just like it to show him. And “idea people” are notoriously poorly paid. The writers in in Hollywood, for example are at the bottom of the financial totem pole, not the top. There’s reason for the common term, “starving artist”.

Little success ever comes from waiting for others to act on your good ideas.

— Dan Kennedy

Dan Kennedy is an author, consultant and business coach. Additional information at http://www.FreeDanKennedyNewsletter.com.