THE NECESSITY OF INNOVATION

"THE NECESSITY OF INNOVATION"

By Eric Plaut

People always claim that they have to keep reinventing themselves throughout their lifetime. From youth to our golden years, we always strive to better ourselves. One reason may be for us to try to give ourselves a stronger identity. During our youth and teen years, students tend to be recognized for their grades. However, with college lurking around the corner, taking part in extracurricular activities during one’s high school years (and even earlier than that) is important to college administrators when they hand-pick their up-and-coming students. In other words, good grades and outside activities involve both the learning experience and having fun. It’s also a way for kids and teenagers to impress their parents, siblings and those around them.

For the most part, this theory doesn’t change much once a person graduates from college. Most likely, unless they tend to go for a certificate or attend graduate school, grown-ups don’t worry about academics or grades. Their worries could consist of whether or not they’ve landed the right job, received that promotion, toted that barge and closed that sale. (Well, maybe not hauling a barge unless you’ve decided to become a tugboat captain!) But outside of the working world, there are usually additional priorities as well. Some people get married and/or try to raise children or even grandchildren. There are groceries to buy, homes to maintain and bills to be paid. And no—don’t write RETURN TO SENDER on your bills, because they’ll come right back to you.

Throughout our lives, we constantly experience a process called CREATION. It’s important for us to have something completed and marked off our to-do list. Then we want to show we look to others we know and respect highly to wait for their REACTION. Notice here that CREATION and REACTION are anagrams, where two words with the same number of letters spell different words. I didn’t come up with this concept. It possibly goes back centuries. Though I recently saw on the Facebook page Revolutions in Graphic Design posted that “Reaction is an anagram for creation.”

However, recreating oneself doesn’t necessarily refer to “urban renewal.” One usually doesn’t have to entirely tear down his or her ideas, and then build them back from the ground up. Concepts tend to come and go. What might work for one thing doesn’t mean it’s right for the next project down the road. Keep a Moleskin notebook with you and write down all your ideas. Some ideas may be used immediately while others literally take decades to come out into the open. Either way, it’s worth the wait.

There are a few examples in history were even inventors used innovation. Thomas Edison was known as one of the greatest inventors of all time despite having three months of formal schooling. Some of his inventions included the stock-ticker-tape machine, the electric light bulb and—his personal favorite—the phonograph. But Edison also used innovation to improve other inventions out there. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, he replaced a typewriter’s wooden keys with metal ones. He improved Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone by installing a carbon transmitter so people wouldn’t have to shout into the receiver.

In closing, we all spend our lives trying to reinvent ourselves. It can be for different reasons such as work, school or even when one tries to turn over a new leaf. People try to find a new process of CREATION while they wait for another’s REACTION. But for the most part, we don’t need to tear down and build an “urban renewal” project from the ground up. You can still keep that part of you that’s relevant to your current life and what lies ahead in the near future. Continue to look for ideas and to talk with those important to you so you’re able to invigorate, innovate and reinvent YOU!

 

AUTHOR’S NOTES

Consciousness or I will not accept any responsibility for any of the material written in this article. This writing just tells of ways of innovation to help one with the job search. It’s considered, by all means, a learning piece. So enjoy and best of luck on the job search!