How I Stay Motivated Through The Ups & Downs Of Inventing

by | Nov 2, 2022

In any business venture, there are going to be many ups and downs.

How do you stay motivated? How do you stay on track?

Here’s what has helped me reach my goal of licensing my product ideas.

Feedback.

I think it’s very important to find someone who you can bounce ideas off of. Someone who you respect.

For me, I was very lucky to find that person in my wife, Janice.

She kept me on track and gave me feedback. She always keeps it real.

She has supported me through all of my ups and downs.

I love you Janice!

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Support from my friends.

Have good friends. My best friend Brian is someone I can always lean on to give me advice especially when I’m down and out.

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Motivational books.

Books that motivate me have been a great asset.

Sometimes, when you’re climbing a mountain, you need a little help.

The Magic of Thinking Big was one of those books!

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A mentor.

The first person who truly believed in me was Steve Askin.

In my early 20s, I asked him, “Am I crazy? All I want to do is to be creative and share that with people.”

He told me, “No. You’re not crazy, everyone else is crazy!”

Even after 40 years, he’s a good friend today.

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Continuing to come up with ideas.

I learned very early on that when I was discouraged, continuing to come up with new ideas kept me motivated.

Learn to protect your creativity! It’s precious.

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A partner.

Find a partner to share your ideas with and work together.

The first idea I licensed was a small airplane with the help of my partner Russell Hicks, the illustrator of the Teddy Ruxpin books.

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Don’t forget: Licensing is always a numbers game.

I love all my ideas. My goal was just to find a home for them.

Thanks for reading,

Stephen Key

inventRight CoFounder

Author

  • Stephen Key

    Stephen Key is an award-winning inventor, renowned intellectual property strategist, lifelong entrepreneur, author, speaker, and columnist.
    Stephen has over 20 patents in his name and the d...