Ideas, Improvements, and Innovations by Jim Stovall
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
You may have heard the old saying, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Whether or not this is true, I would at least have to agree that there is very little new under the sun. Most of what we think of as brand-new or cutting-edge is little more than something that has been remolded or reworked. In the world of breakthrough ideas, concepts, or technologies, virtually everything will fall into one of three categories. There are the rare and precious original ideas. These are few and far between, and should be celebrated for the genius they represent. The vast majority of new things are either innovations or improvements on old things.
Picasso said, “Good artists copy, and great artists steal.” You are undoubtably as appalled as I was initially when I thought I understood that Pablo Picasso was advocating stealing. But when I read further regarding his thoughts and ideas, I discovered Picasso was telling us that virtually all of us, including great artists, build upon the work of others.
When you consider true cutting-edge thinkers or creators of original ideas, you might think of people such as Galileo, Alexander Graham Bell, or Einstein, but in each case, they borrowed or built on the work of others. Galileo found an early prototype of a telescope that didn’t work very well. He broadened the lens and extended the device and will forever be remembered as the inventor of the telescope. Alexander Graham Bell found some existing technology and reworked it slightly into what you and I think of as a telephone. Albert Einstein studied the work of at least two other scientists and synthesized their thoughts into his own theory of relativity.
Here in America, we justifiably think of Thomas Jefferson as the divinely inspired genius who gave us our Declaration of Independence. In reality, phrases and whole sections of what Jefferson wrote were paraphrased or simply copied from John Locke. There are only 26 letters in the alphabet and seven musical notes, so it stands to reason that great art seems familiar as the artists are all working with the same material.
As the author of over 40 titles who puts my contact info in each of my books, I am contacted by countless people who want to be writers. My best advice to them or you is simply, if you want to be a writer, become a reader. In order to perfect any craft, we must become a student of the top people in the field. In doing so, we can become inspired by their work, build on it, and bring our own art to the world.
Someone wrote the first song, built the first building, or cooked the first hamburger. Ever since then, creative people have worked hard to innovate and improve the state of the art.
As you go through your day today, explore what others have done, and then consider what you can do.
Today’s the day!
Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including the Wisdom for Winners series. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).