Do you ever get a good idea?

I mean, an idea so good you practically jump up from your chair, beam a smile and nearly break your arm trying to pat yourself on the back?
The creations that benefit society most usually come from the most humble beginnings. The automobile, the computer, the telephone and the light bulb — all these great creations came from an idea, a notion thought up through a lark or a creative flight of fancy.
By and large, these inventive notions do not come from the deep thinkers and noted scholars of our day. They come from the average Joe, the regular guy, the mom-and-pop everyman who see how something is, and imagine how it could be better.
I recently watched a television series — yes, reality TV strikes again — called “American Inventor.” The show was about a nationwide search for the next great inventor, and they saw thousands of applicants, each of whom had an idea so strong that they devoted enormous amounts of time, energy and money into developing it.
These were creative people. Some of their ideas were fascinating, from newly designed child safety seats to bicycles with pedals and a seat on the handlebars to ride kids double.
The push of the show came from these inventors and their willingness to risk everything in their lives to see their dreams come to reality.
Good ideas spring from anywhere. Here are a few good ideas I have thought of or heard about over the years, but have not seen developed.
• The Department of Defense can save billions if they could develop a technology for their fighter aircraft that allows them to fly like moths do, all willy-nilly and random. Ever try to swat a moth? The innovation would render anti-aircraft artillery useless.
• Let’s save our precious natural resources by developing a bathing and cleaning system that uses compressed air instead of water. Imaging stepping into the shower each morning and getting a cleansing blast of 120 PSI, blasting off all the funky stuff. Think of the savings in towels and electricity from hair dryer use, not to mention the dent in the water bill. Wash clothes? Why? All you’d have to do is hang them up on the line and blast away with the compression hose. Let the kids do it — it would be fun. Let’s set up dishwashers with a swirling 200 PSI for those stuck-on food problems.
• How many times have you burned your lips, your tongue or the roof of your mouth on hot coffee or piping hot food? Well, let’s create a thin, plastic mouth and lip lining that keeps your sensitive features from being scalded. Can’t taste your food? That may be a plus. Little Jimmy might eat those Brussels sprouts if he can’t taste them.
• Let’s get the agricultural community working on a new strain of potatoes that already has the butter, sour cream, cheese and whatever else already grown in. This eliminates the need for those messy potato bars in restaurants. The money they save not having to hire people to stock and clean those bars could show up in reduced bills. Well, maybe.
• A lot of good ideas can be found in science fiction. When the “Star Trek” movies came out (I am not a Trekkie, but did watch the movies), there was an imaginary device on Klingon spaceships that “cloaked” the ship from its enemies. It was an interesting notion that I forgot about until a few months ago, when I read that some think-tank out west is working on just such a cloaking device. It won’t have practical applications for decades, but I guarantee some lab-coat wearing guy somewhere watched the same movie I did and said, “hey, if we just…”
And a notion was born.
Are those communications devices they wore on their blouses really that much different from cell phones? That funky earpiece Lt. Uhura wore when getting messages on the bridge likely gave birth to those Bluetooth devices a lot of people wear in their ears right now.
A lot of innovative notions come from simply solving routine problems. Wouldn’t you like to have been the guy that invented Post-It Notes? Or Liquid Paper? Toilet paper holders came about when someone thought of a new way to keep the roll of paper available, functional and hands-free.
Great creations are out there waiting to be discovered. They are all around. It has been said that the current generation is just too lazy to be creative, or lacks the motivation to do something as magnificent as invent the automobile or the telephone. I disagree. The problem comes from no one having any way to put those thoughts into action. They lack the finds and the technical expertise to move the idea along.
There were thousands of hopeful contestants on “American Inventor,” and while the show made a lot of them look foolish for the sake of good TV, I have to take my hat off to all of them. They all believed in their idea and their creation. They all put time, money and effort into their ideas that backed up that belief — and that takes real guts.
Some of those people quit their jobs and spent every dime they ever earned, only to be told their idea would never get off the ground. Well, at least they gave the effort to get it that far. Good for them.
A lot of people would see that as foolhardy, and I can’t completely disagree. But in that short-sighted risk of future security, they took a bold and brave step based off their belief in something with so much fervor and passion that they would take the gamble. They risked their way of life as a way of confirming their devotion to their notion. Their bravery and devotion should be noted and saluted before they are discarded.
So having the idea isn’t the tough part. Having the guts to see it through is what tests you. It’s not like I am sinking any of my money into one of my ideas.
That’s safe. But it’s also kind of sad.
I have two friends who are in business together, and the going has been slow for them. They frequently get discouraged, but they pick each other up and go on. They have a lot of guts and a lot of faith, and most of all, they have the courage to fail. That is why they are going to do very well someday, and why I am proud to count them as friends.
Inventors are hard to find. So are brave people who believe in the power of their dreams.