There is no debate about how the economy changes from century to century. Only 200 years ago about 90% of all American families made their livings by farming. Now, fewer than 10% of Americans call farming their main source of income. And our farms are more productive than ever before. We have long since turned the corner on the industrial revolution.
Inventors and investors have turned their eyes from the wheels and gears and electro-mechanical engines of the 18th and 19th centuries to the chips and wafers of the 21st century. We innovate through software more than through hardware now. What does that say about our machine technologies, except that they are more general purpose in nature than the machines of yesteryear? Even our automobiles can make phone calls and serve as entertainment centers. And soon they will drive themselves.
That is all the result of people working hard to innovate and engineer new solutions to help us. You can easily find news stories about innovators in technology but it’s not so easy to tally up the impact they have had on our culture. Oh, economists offer up many theories. I suppose their measurements make sense to them. But how do you relate the changes in communication from 200 years ago to what we do today? We communicate much more often and with many more people today than our ancestors did 200 years ago.
One difference between the innovators of today and those of yesteryear is that many people who dream up new ideas have little or no money. History is filled with tales of wealthy tinkerers who were able to master the engineering and scientific skills required to devise new technologies. As we have created more technology we have seen the ability to create technology “trickle down” to people of less means. But I think the corporate world has also dominated much of the innovation we enjoy for many generations. It is not wealthy men but wealthy companies that fund our research now.
If you dream of becoming an inventor you can begin tinkering with ideas at home right now. But sooner or later you’ll have to start building your proof of concept. To do that you’ll need some money. And the truly innovative home inventor works on a small, limited budget. That’s the good news.
Even better news is that there are myriad tips and suggestions online telling you how to save up a little bit of money. Say you decide you need to spend $500 on parts for your new invention. Just a quick diversion into better money management should help you pull together that money from your own monthly expenses. Once you have saved what you need, you buy the parts, and you build your dream.
Doing this over and over again is the way to fund your success as an inventor. You’ll never have to borrow money for your inventions if you can save what you need in the space of a few weeks or months.
You want to invest your hard work and time in being creative, in solving real world problems. The less time you must spend just earning or saving money, the better. And if that is not a step toward success in achieving your life goals then I don’t know what is.
