Be an Innovator

“If you want to be an innovator, you have to work like one, think like one, listen like one, ask questions like one, learn like one. Innovation isn’t a thing; it’s a way of being.” Alan Webber

Innovation: it can be trained, it can be practiced, it can be honed, but you need to recognize your passion. A professor once told me “surround yourself with people who you want to become like” – words I will never forget. So much of innovation comes from keeping an open mind – from connecting ideas which can look seemingly trivial. 

Think of our society as an external hard-drive. We constantly build upon other peoples ideas, improving them slightly – sometimes drastically. Ideas are there to be shared and there to be built on, that’s why I always question “perfect” and “impossible”. Nothing will ever be perfect – there’s always someone creating something better, and with the exponential change in technology – nothing will ever stay impossible for long.

Expose yourself to different ideas, take every opportunity to learn, and question the status quo. Question commercials – ask yourself if their effective, and how can they be better at it. Once you start questioning, and exposing yourself to knew theories – new areas of thought a whole world of possibilities will become available.

How are you an innovator?