InventRight Review

Before I continue with yesterday's post, I want to give a quick review of inventRight as a company.

If you are not familiar with inventRight, it is a company started by Stephen Key and Andrew Krauss.

Stephen Key is a New York Times Bestselling Author and author of the book One Simple Idea. The book goes into excellent detail and breaks down the exact steps in order to successfully achieve a licensing deal.

Even if you don't have an idea, Stephen gives you tips to get an idea to run it through the gambit of a successful  licensing deal. It has been my own Bible while attempting to licensing out my and other's ideas.

The key (no pun intended) to its success is the content within the book. It breaks inventing down step-by-step so the average person can understand it. It also utilizes Stephen's personal experience to solidify the point.
Highly recommended: Purchase a copy!


The company (inventRight) teaches inventors to successfully close a licensing deal with direct mentor from Andrew and Stephen (founders of the company). They really put time and effort into helping the common man get their foot up in the inventing world.
Check them out!
http://www.inventright.com/

Getting over your Fear (part 1)

Today's post will be about getting over your Fear.

• It is about acknowledging that you may be stagnant and want to improve an area of your life. 
• It is about taking control of your life.
• It is about taking your life to a level that was unimaginable to you.
• It is about realizing what it really is.

Fear is a sly devil that hides in our thoughts and pretends to be rational. I have definitely let Fear get the better of me.

We all have Fear and here are the three parts to taking control of it:

1. Realizing the Fear
2. Overcoming the Fear
3. Looking back at Fear

This will be a three-part post and tomorrow's post will be focusing on realizing the fear (which is an easy step). 

*Prepare to see the word Fear a lot in the next day's posts

For today, I want to focus on the application of this to inventing. I have come up with several inventions in my life and the first time I did so I followed my gut instinct. Turns out my gut instinct was based on Fear.

My idea was the best in the world, so I wouldn't show it to anybody. Sound familiar? Maybe that is something you have experience or are going through.

Read on tomorrow because you want to know how to deal with Fear in your inventing life.  

What Batman can teach you about inventing

Here is a recent interview I did that can help you in your inventor's journey:

• Batman is a defender of justice in Gotham. 
• Bruce Wayne (a friend of Batman) is a playboy and runs Wayne Enterprises. 

They can actually help you a lot in your efforts to invent and license out one of your ideas.
(Bold is what they said, italics is my take away)

Here is what he can teach you:
1) Always fight for justice!
A little abstract, but look for ways to solve people's problems. Solving problems makes people pull out their wallets.

2) No matter your past you can still be a defender of Gotham
Look at Batman. He was born rich and saw his parents murdered. He came back from that and became a legendary hero. Don't let your past "hold you back".

3) Take lessons from Ra's al Ghul
Remember that Batman learned from the best and so he became the best. When trying to become an inventor or product developer, take advice from those who are on your same path.

4) Get cool gadgets from Lucius Fox
So Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) was Bruce Wayne's assistant and would always hook him up with cool gadgets. Get help from others in your journey. They might have some good tips and tricks.

5) Get support from Alfred the Butler
Alfred is Bruce Wayne's butler and helps him out a TON. Don't be afraid to rely on others for support especially during rough times.

6) Don't be afraid of what others think. Justice is the most important thing
Sometimes the sexiest idea is not the best one. Invent for things you are passionate about and invent to solve problems. 

These are the key take-aways that I got from the Batman and Bruce Wayne interview. It was weird that I couldn't get them together in the same room at the same time. Several times during the interview, Bruce went to the bathroom and Batman appeared for a few minutes. He then left and Bruce came back. They could really benefit from getting to know each other!

I hope you liked this post... let me know how I can help you in your journey.

Making money in the New Year

Money is important to you and me. If you don't think money is important, then stop lying to yourself.

Making money on your own is difficult, but I have found a shortcut. We'll get in more detail in future posts, but you should know for now that inventing and innovating is the great shortcut.

Remember that companies need innovation in order to survive. They need innovation to make more money and grow. Every day they are faced with their competition and must think of ways to crush their skulls!

That's where you come in. (Yes!!! in the skull crushing part)

 You are fresh-faced and open to try new things. You are an inventor. If you don't think you are an inventor, then please do reconsider. Everybody has at least had one idea in their lifetime to improve something. Or everybody has complained about something they had a problem with.

That is the first step and often times the most difficult. Finding the problem

Realizing the problem is half the battle.
How does this relate to making money? Check out tomorrow's post and I will dig deeper on how problem solving makes money....

5 things James Franco can teach you about licensing

Licensing is a difficult game... but James Franco can help you navigate those difficult waters. He and I were hanging out recently and he decided to give me some tips. These are things that are designed to help you, an inventor, sell your idea to an interested company.

So here they are, the five things James Franco can teach you about licensing:

1) Mr. Franco told me that he actually dropped out of UCLA after his first year. 

Failure is only bad if you allow it to be... use your past experiences to your benefit

2)  Stare down your enemies... with those half-sleepy James Franco eyes. His eyes look upon his opponents with the same steady gaze that is ready for bed. 

This one is a little bit of a stretch... I will admit. Look at companies and potential licensing partners the same as you would a friend or neighbor. Be nice and friendly with them. Over-professional inventor won't make the same impact as friendly inventor.

3) Keep working hard. James told me that his first attempt at a t.v. show went into the dumps. It was cancelled after the first year.

Keep working with different ideas and different companies to get your idea out there.

4) Try many different things. James Franco was an extra in a movie even after he "made it." James Franco went back to school to get his PhD after he had "made it" as a big Hollywood Star. 

Try different things with licensing. Don't be afraid to tread into new waters.

5) Keep smiling and having a good time. James Franco loves to smile and is known for his smile. 

Don't take yourself too seriously and keep trying.

I hope those tips were helpful... they sure were to me. Good luck on your invention journey and drop me a line about your struggles. Best comment will get to sit down and chat with James Franco!

Trying your best and failing

As you know, this blog is for inventors. Inventors that have an idea and want to go out into the world and pursue it.

What is important is going out into the world and falling on your face.

I have been pushing a certain device that one of my clients wants to license out. There is only one company that exists in the market that can sell this. I worked my butt off making phone calls and getting a hold of the company's right people.

And I did! Great success, right?

Not yet! As the company reviewed the project, they emailed back that they were not interested.
(Cue the sad music sob story)
That's unfortunate.

What does all this mean and why do you care?
This is why you should care... even though I failed in trying to get this invention licensed out, I had the biggest smile on my face. I at least tried! I tried my best and failed. That is alright. I know that in the future I can take what I learned here and apply it. I know that I am light-years ahead of any other inventor who is in the basement dreaming of big bucks.

This blog is about you and bringing success to your life.
How have you failed in the past? Were you happy that you at least tried?
Let me know by inputting your comment.

Power of Baby steps

With the New Year upon us, I bet you have set Resolutions that you wish to change in your life. The common ones are losing weight, getting a better job, and/or finding a significant other.
January 15th is a special day because that marks the day that 80% of people give up their New Year's Resolutions and go back to old habits. 80%!

How can we become the few and the proud who actually stick with our goals and see the positive results?
Baby steps

Although it may not be the sexy thing to do, baby steps are what keep you moving and motivated. While others are becoming hyper-motivated eventually to fail and regret making a resolution, you will be taking baby steps.
Let's apply this to an example.
Let's say you wanna lose weight... Great! Let's actually take that and move with it.
There's gonna be one guy who is sick and tired of being overweight and resolves to go to the gym 5 times a week at 5:30 AM! He won't last the entire week.
Now there's you who is gonna first start by getting to know the gym. Walk around the lockers and the weights to become familiar with everything. That is baby step number one.
Next time you go to the gym, you will do one workout.
Do you see how this works?

Post a comment below on how you plan to surpass all your friends and colleagues by taking baby steps.

Sustained effort and systems

I sometimes get very passionate about a subject and then put all my effort into it for a time. After a few weeks or so, I get bored with it or I just give up when I run into an obstacle.
Recently, I have begun using systems to achieve my goals. Systems are habits that happen without you thinking about them. For example, every morning when I wake up, I brush my teeth. I don't make a conscious decision every morning. I don't say, "I should brush my teeth this morning." It happens without me thinking about it.
Let's apply that to licensing. I spent the last few months getting excited about projects to license but GETTING NOWHERE! I rarely picked up the phone to talk to any companies!
For my business, I had to consciously decide to make phone calls to companies and it never happened....
Now I use a system. Every day at a specific time, I pick up the phone and make those calls. I don't have to think about it. I don't have to worry about. I am working towards my goal of retirement by utilizing a system.

What are some things that you have been struggling with that you could apply a system to?
Write your comment below...

Pushing till it hurts

I am tired... I have been working all day and still have some more work in front of me. Why am I excited to be working more when I am dead tired and want to quit?
It is because I know that if I keep pushing then I will make progress. The mind is like a muscle. In order for it to grow and develop, you must push it to its limit and then some. You must really stretch it out and work it out. When you go to the gym, don't give up when your muscles begin to get tired. No! When you go to the gym, give up when your body forces you to.
Let's apply this to the mind. Give up when your mind literally shuts down.
Let's this apply to licensing and inventorship. Keep calling and pushing your creative limits when you literally can't give any more. If you are tired of making phone calls to companies about your idea, then make one more. Push yourself and enjoy the fruits of your labor in the long-term.

Cheers!

Sleeping less and Accomplishing more

Today, I was setting up my sleep schedule for next month... weird, huh?
The reason I was doing that was because knew that I needed the extra time in my schedule in order to accomplish all the goals I had set for myself. My alternatives were to sacrifice something whether it be social life or sleep.
I then reread my notes that I had taken when I read 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. At first, I was figuring ways that I would cope with less amounts of sleep. I had implicitly assumed that if I slept less then I would be feeling less functional. NOT THE CASE!
In the 4-Hour Body, Tim discusses a method to getting less sleep and feeling just as awake. It is called polyphasic sleeping. The system of sleeping allows you to sleep less and feel just as rested. More on this next time....

The Power of Learning

The difference between success and failure is often knowledge. It comes down to whether or not you know what to do next. Most inventors come up with an idea, but don't know what to do next. Then, they follow the common advice out there. It goes something like this:

1) Have an idea

2) Patent it

3) Prototype it (sometimes)

4-9) ????

10) Make Millions

The problem, as you can clearly see, is that there are a TON of steps missing. The inventor is by no means at fault for following the common advice. There are better ways to get your idea out to market.

If you want to learn more about this process, check out two books that I think will help you along the road to success.

• One Simple Idea by Stephen Key and
• Mom Inventor's Handbook by Tamara Monosoff

Procrastination vs. Gestation

Have you ever been stuck on a project before you even started? Let's say that you have some upcoming assignment, but you fail to start until the night before or right before the deadline.

This actually happens a lot more than you think and to many more people than you'd imagine. It is a common epidemic that actually might be rooted in something deep inside you. Take note of why you are feeling the way you are when procrastinating. Maybe it is because you simply don't like the project and are forced to do it for one reason or another. Maybe it is because your mind still hasn't fully formed the ideas that you intend to put out there. This descriptive difference may lead to a new word being used to describe your situation rather than procrastination. That word is gestation.

Whatever you are working on isn't fully formed and needs time to ripen in your mind. 

The important difference between procrastination and gestation is willpower. While you are gestating, you are intentionally taking a break from your work in order to fully form your thoughts. While you are procrastinating, there is constantly a little voice inside your head that is nudging you to finish your work.

Best way to combat this? Decide right here and now that you will continue procrastinating for the next five or so minutes and THEN you will do your work no questions asked. 

By allowing yourself a break, you can actually fully relax and enjoy the time you have. What often happens is when you are procrastinating that you are in a state of half-relax and half-stress knowing that you must get the work done. Take control and make intentional use of your time.

Making Money

A note on making it big:

As I am working on these deals of mine (I am a licensing agent who helps people sell their ideas), I realized that one cannot focus on the outcome. In the case of what we are learning, licensing, one cannot focus on the monetary benefit. If someone makes that their goal, then they will be miserable the rest of the time. Getting the paycheck is such a small part of the entire process.

It is like the story of Sisyphus. He works so hard to push a rock uphill only to have it fall down to the bottom again. Once the rock is at the bottom, Sisyphus must once again push the rock up the hill.

The entire process of licensing starts with coming up with an idea, changing it to fit your customer's needs, doing market research, pitching to companies, negotiating with companies, and cutting a deal.

One should enjoy the entire process not just the outcome. The only advice I can give in this area is that if you aren't enjoying it (a question you must ask yourself) then get out of this industry and try something else. The entire process is heart-breaking and will test you on every level. If you do love what you do, then you will enjoy every possible outcome and "roll with the punches" much better.
In essence, do what you love to do and finding what you love to do is worth every bit of effort.

Working through Emotions

A note on emotions and perserverance:

During several points of time during the week, I was working through some doubts about my business. The ideas I was trying to license weren't going as well as I had hoped. I expected by this time to be further down the road with some of these projects.
As I was experiencing these emotions, I realized that I was much further ahead than I was from last week.And had made even more progress as compared to the week before.

When going through anything of this magnitude during any time in your life, the first thing to do is to acknowledge the emotion. (Many of the tips I will be giving can be found in Olivia Fox Cabane's book Charisma Myth) When you acknowledge what is going on within you, you can then take steps to work through that emotion. It takes introspection and self-knowledge to know what is causing this emotion.
Once you know what is causing the emotion, you can either remove the cause or treat the symptoms. It is recommended that you remove the cause, but if that isn't an option then there are a few more things you can do to cease the emotion from taking over and ruining your day.

1. Realize that it is just an emotion

We are human and as such we are prone to valleys and peaks of how we feel. Realize that this negative emotion will pass eventually and life will return to normal.

2. Realize the emotion has happened to others

Visualizing that there have been others who have experienced this emotion as well can help you work through it. Personally, I feel a negative emotion and almost feel as if I am the only person in the world who has ever experienced it. THIS IS UNTRUE. Billions of people over tens of thousands years have been through similar situations like you and I. That visualization will help you work through the emotion.

3. Smile!

If the last steps didn't work (Acknowledge and both realizations), then "fake it 'till you make it." Plaster on a fake smile and you can trick your mind into thinking that you are happy. This will then cause a chemical cascade which will ACTUALLY lead you to feel happier. Sounds crazy, right? It's not crazy, it's science!

Let me know how those work for you... I want to hear your feedback. They have worked for me and I hope they do the same for you

Persistence and using it to your advantage

A note on persistence.....

An important personality trait to have in life is to be persistent. Everybody says this! In every aspect of life, people say that you need to be persistent in order to get anything you want.
There is the negative side of persistence as well. I personally have heard horror stories where entrepreneurs spend their entire life and MILLIONS of dollars trying to make an idea into reality. In the end, they find that nobody wants their idea and their family has been cheering on a loser.The other side of the coin is where persistence pays off. These stories follow the entrepreneur hero archetype. The entrepreneur, against all odds and opinions, shows the world that this idea is really good and beneficial.

Somewhere in between lies the truth on persistence. Persistence does need to be used in order to get past most barriers, but can lead you astray. The difference of these two paths is one word: feedback. Whenever you feel as if you are getting nowhere, get feedback from you "brick wall." This applies to licensing very nicely as you should get feedback from the company you are trying to seduce. If your idea is a dud or has a major flaw, then the company will package that feedback in a useful way. While attempting to license an idea, you will run into several companies who will give you useful feedback. Take this and use it to your advantage.
Some people may think it is weird to ask for feedback. I know for a fact that most people WANT to give you feedback. They want to see you succeed.
Apply this to persistence and see the results.... Keep trying and get useful feedback

Last week:

I gave you a task to complete one thing off the list... did you do it?

If not, go and do it.

This week I want you to go and buy Stephen Key's book. If you did it last week, then read the first Chapter. Just the first chapter! Nothing else.... Some of the go-getters out there want to do more, but I urge you not to.

Send me a message or comment and have a great week!

Getting Started....

The important part of any change in life is taking baby steps.....
Don't believe me? Have you ever made a New Year's Resolution and never followed up?
I know that I personally have been in that position before. A few years back, I wanted to go to the gym and get buff. I had it all planned it out in my mind: I would get up early every other morning and work out for two hours. I justified it in my mind and was excited. Results would come for sure! A few weeks later, I was back into the same old routine of watching television munching on a bag of potato chips.

Now, what went wrong? As soon as I lost my initial excitement, reality began to set in. Believe me, I tried to go the gym. That first day, I got out of bed and went to the gym. After that, I realized that it was HARD getting up early every morning and I fell out of the gym-going habit.
I now go to the gym... because I started taking baby steps. Instead of promising myself to get up early every other day, I went to the gym once a week when I could find time in my busy schedule. Over time, I ramped that up and eventually got to my goal.

The purpose of this blog is to show people about a business strategy known as licensing. The gym example applies nicely to licensing. The entire process of taking one of your ideas and selling is complicated and may seem to be a lot at once. With the initial excitement, you may want to tackle the project on your own and feel that you can take on the world. However, once that excitement fizzles out and reality sets in you will be left feeling ashamed. TAKE BABY STEPS. Below is a list of things that you can do this week to eventually retire through licensing out of your ideas.

Choose from this list of things to do this week (and do only one!):

• Buy Stephen Key's book on licensing (One Simple Idea):
• Write out your money-making idea on 1 page of paper
•  If you don't have an idea, write out 5 potential ideas (see example below)

Idea list example (actually taken from my idea notebook):
*Try to go for quantity over quality

1. A meter/countdown to tell you when you will die
2. A device to track your thoughts throughout the day and tell you how to be more positive
3. A device to track your mistakes throughout the day and remind you of them
4. Idea generator machine
5. Credit card receipt goes to your phone via text RIGHT after you buy something

As you can well see, most of these ideas are not "The Next Big Thing." In fact, some are just plain ridiculous. For this exercise, just let your mind wander and write down the results!

I challenge you to take a baby step in the right direction by doing just one of the things listed above...

and let me know the results!

-Viktor Jiracek