So yeah, I am back, and ready to write some more articles. I never did get the Jane Addams article finished, partly because it took a lot of time to write it, and partly I don’t have high speed internet at my house. I am writing this article from my phone app as we speak. I probably will not write as lenghty discussions and have as cool of pics (well you be the judge if they ever were cool lol) but I will still be jotting down my passions of living the problem solver lifestyle.

Some new thoughts I have been having: The problem solver lifestyle is the habit of a winner. It is the ability to maintain an optimistic attitude no matter the odds. Its not head in the clouds, outlandish ideas of hope, (although many great ideas start there) but it is seeing the positivity in all that life throws our way.

THE BEST TIME TO STRENGHTEN YOUR PROBLEM SOLVER ATTITUDE IS WHEN LIFE IS BEATING YOU DOWN.

Just like you gotta strain yourelf at the gym to build muscle, so do you in order to strenghten and deepen your optimism. It takes time. For me, sometimes I do well and other times hopelessly fail. But the key is to keep goin to the gym.

Until next time,

Innoventive Principles Comments June 22nd, 2010

This is a follow up from my previous article. After you have pondered your lists, you will have an understanding of your passions. As you seek through the why of your passions, you will start to see how you can serve best. Problem solving is all about service. True it is nice to think of that revolutionary idea that will bring you lots of money, but if money is your focus, you will fail.

Let me repeat that, for that last statement is so important:

If money is your focus, you will fail.

I say this for two reasons: 1) It usually takes some time to be making money off of innoventin, and 2) money will not bring you happiness.

Innoventin’ is not a get rich quick path. There I said it. That is something that not very many entrepreneurial books out there will tell you.  Innoventin is slightly different than entreprenuerism, for while entrepreneurs do try to find answers to problems, their primary motive is money.  With money as the focus, morals get set aside, and this is the reason why you have things like sweat shops, porn peddlers, 25% interest on credit cards and other types of seedy services.  True, these entrepreneurs are providing a service that some people want, but are they really making the world a better place?  

Innoventors seek something higher than riches.  We are seeking to rise humanity to new heights, to unlocking our true potential.   We are on the pursuit of happiness, real happiness, and that comes from service.

Think of an innoventor as an entrepreneur with morals.

Now along the way, you will probably make a lot of money, for money inevitably follows value. If you are bringing things valuable into this world, people will pay you for it. This is another reason why I had you focus on what your passions are, for those are the places where you can bring the most value to the world. Where you genius lies is the place where you can give the world what they are seeking for.If you want to be rich, find better ways to give

So understand, it is ok to think about innoventin in an area that will bring you a paycheck. As a matter of fact, I encourage finding ways to make money off of your passions, so that way you can innovent full time. Just don’t let that be you primary focus. Figure out how to better the world first, then look at the money.

Do this, and I promise you will be on the journey that brings happiness.  This is the path that leads to joy, hope, and optimism, and when you sit on your deathbed, you can review your life and you will feel peace.

-Aharon Smith

Innoventive Principles Comments December 28th, 2009

So what am I doing being up so late Christmas Eve? Why waiting for Santa of course! Besides being busy setting out cookies and milk and sprinkling magic reindeer dust, I want to share with you this way cool letter that ‘Santa’ sent my wife. This is a clever creation that was displayed in the Innovent shop

This came to us from the mind of Shelby Gephard, owner of Keepsake Cuties.  Keepsake Cuties is a baby boutique shop that can be found online (click the link above) and is also located at the Pine Ridge mall.  They carry a lot of innvoative products, like those hard to find baby blessing outfits, way sweet homemade heat bags, and of course, the Santa letters.  Check out their store in at the Pocatello mall as well, it is right across from the LDS distribution center.

So, here is the way cool Santa Letter I got for my wife.

Very cool, no?  You should have seen her face when she got it.  It was pretty fun. Here are some more pics:

This is the stuff that came with the letter:

It was a fun time.

I also spoke with another person who got this for his niece, and he says that it really made her day.  Some of her classmates were telling her that there is no such thing as Santa, and she was excited, because now she ‘has proof’ that Santa is real.  She also told her parents that Santa is so smart for being able to know the things that she had been doing to help around the house.

This was a really cool product that we carried for the Holidays.  If you didn’t get a chance to order, don’t worry, we will have it again next year.  I am still looking forward to the postcard my wife will get, reminding her that Santa is watching.

Everyone, have a Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays,

-Aharon Smith

Innoventive Products Comments December 25th, 2009

As you work on your lists from my previous post, I want to share with you about this amazing person of the 19th century, Jane Addams. She symbolizes what being an innoventor is all about.

The progressive movement of the 19^th-early 20^th century tends to get a bad rep.  That’s because of its focus on using the government to solve social ills.  We all know how well the government is at handling social problems.  Usually their solution requires a regime of politically-minded bureaucrats bunker-ed down in a battlefield of cubicles, each armed with fancy ball-point pens and memo-creating computers.  Ah yes, bureaucracy at its finest, the system that makes any free-spirited, independent innoventor cringe.

But yet as the progressive movement did help open the doors to this suffocating sea of neatly lined desks and file cabinets, it wasn’t all bad.

Perhaps similar, if not more destructive, ills can be said about the negative externalities created by industrialization and the rise of big business; people being treated not much more than animals, with the all-mighty factory-owner following the said laws of capitalism to the extreme, in seeking his self-interest profits by physically squeezing the life out of his workers.

Progressivism, while it did have its flaws, was a reaction to this newly-risen tyranny of big business.  It was a path taken by the social leaders of the time, ones whose battles are similar to the ones we face today.  We can learn much from a study of these daring and wondrous people of that generation, and perhaps we will see more similarities than differences in our investigation of them.

One such person I would like to draw your attention to is Jane Addams.

Jane Addams (1860-1935) came from the high class of society and was extremely sensitive to the wretched conditions the other half was forced to live.  Thanks to her inherited wealth, she was able to travel Europe.  There, she had her intersection with destiny.  One of the most eye-opening experiences from her trip occurred in East London, where she witnessed a Saturday night auction of decaying produce, unfit to sell at the market.  Despite it being so detestable, she saw the poor eagerly solicit for this unhealthy food.  In Twenty Years at Hull House, She states:

“They were bidding their farthings and ha’pennies for a vegetable held up by the auctioneer, which he at last scornfully flung, with a gibe for its cheapness, to the successful bidder.  In the momentary pause only one man detached himself from the groups.  He had bidden on a cabbage, and when it struck his hand, he instantly sat down on the curb, tore it with his teeth, and hastily devoured it, unwashed and uncooked as it was.”

Such a site made Jane Addams want to take action, to do something in order to help.  She was a deep thinker, and received a college education, based on the classics.  To her, though, studying the great writings of history was not enough, action had to be a part of it.  As she pondered how upper class tends to fill their minds with the epic tales of the past, such as Illiad and others, she states “This is what we were all doing, lumbering our minds with literature that only served to cloud the really vital situation spread before our eyes.”  She realized that education without action actually detaches people from reality, and in turn deadens them in a desire to help others.  This separation between the haves and have-nots make it difficult for the wealthy to know how to serve, and I think that she thought similar to Bill Gates,   that societies greatest problem was not that people didn’t care, but they didn’t know how to help.

These thoughts weighed heavily on Addams, and when she came back to America, she devised a plan that would change the world forever.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I will tell you about her amazing action plan. How is that for a cliff hanger?  However, if the suspense is just killing you and you can’t wait that long, then you can learn more about Jane Addams from this wonderful book:  20 Years at the Hull House. It is how I learned about her, and I must tell you, it is a very inspiring read.  Addams has a very eloquent and poetic way of writing.  Her thoughts are very principle-centered, and it will move your soul.

-Aharon Smith

Innoventive People Comments December 18th, 2009

I changed the name of this blog from “Think Outside the Box”, to “The Problem Solver Lifestyle.” The reason for the changes is that “problem solving” more fitly explains the essence of being an innoventor. While thinking outside the box is an important part of seeing the world anew, problem solving is the reason behind it. If you truly want to be happy, if you want to feel that joy in your heart each and every day, you have to take on the problem solving lifestyle. This is a mindset where everywhere you look, you see opportunities for improvement, rather than heartache and despair. It can be a rather difficult mindset to achieve, but despite our shortcomings, it is something we should all strive for.

So how do you get started? How do you begin the problem solver lifestyle?

USE YOUR GENIUS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

In order to become a ‘problem solver’ you have to find problems. That is pretty basic. However, before you start looking for problems, look at yourself first. You see the world in a way that no one else does, and as a result, you are destined to serve the world in a way that no one else can. That destiny intercedes with your passions and genius.  This is also where you love resides, and that is what is necessary to solve problems.   As an innoventor, you have to do what you love. That is crucial.  Don’t waste time doing stuff you hate.   Now I don’t mean stop doing the thing that are important because you hate them, like eating your veggies or exercising.  What I am talking about here is the problems you choose to solve.     This task is going to take a lot out of you, and you have got to be working on the problems that you are passionate about, for that passion will ride you through the hard times.

So what problems coincide with your passions?  A lot of people have a hard time trying to figure that out.  Discovery of self doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen. Are you ready to get started? I thought so. Here is a simple exercise that you can do to get going.

STEP 1:   BRAINSTORM
Sit down with a pen and paper and spend 5 minutes writing down all the things that you like to do. Don’t give yourself much time to think about, just start writing what comes to mind. The idea here is to get your brain thinking and the more stuff that comes out the better. You may write down hobbies, like playing the piano, to simple activities, like hanging out with my dad.

STEP 2: PONDER AND RATE
After you finish, spend some time reviewing the list and categorize them from what you love the most to the ones you just like to do. What I did was place a series of “+” by the item, where the more “+” meant I enjoyed it more. When I was done, I went through all the activities to make sure that they looked right. I was surprised at some of the stuff I loved more than others. For example, I enjoy ‘internet programming’ more than I enjoy learning history.

STEP 3: DISCOVER THE WHY

Here is the third step, and the most important. As you look at your list of things, write to the side of them why you like doing it. This one gets harder, because sometimes we don’t know why we like doing something just that we do. Don’t settle with that answer! Dig deep into yourself and seek for the why. If you get writers block, then just start throwing stuff down. As you review what you wrote, the why will be embedded in you words. Now review the list and I bet you will find similar ‘why’s’ in the things you like to do. Those why’s are connected to your genius, that unique way in which you can serve that no one else can. For me, “I love to be with people” and “love to learn.” came up a lot. This is telling me that those are some of my key passions and when it comes to seeking out problems to solve, I try to find ones that include being with people and learning.

HAVING PROBLEMS?

If you are having problems with this exercise, or just feel unsure about your conclusions, share this with someone you trust.  Seeing someone else’s perspective helps us learn things about ourself we wouldn’t discover alone.  I am willing to help you out.  If you want to, email me your list and  I would be happy to go through it with you. Send it to release_you@yahoo.com

DISCOVERING YOUR GENIUS IS MORE A JOURNEY THAN A DESTINATION

Now, I wish I could say that discovering your genius is as simple as this. Truth be told, it takes a lifetime to figure this stuff out. Realize that discovering your genius is more of a jorney than a destination.  It is something that you will find along the way.  As you begin to serve, you will learn more and more about what you are passionate about, and you will learn how to super focus that passion into a way that you can better the world.  The best thing you can do now is get started.  You will figure the rest out along the way.  Stay tuned, for in my next blog, I  will be talking about what you can do once you discover where your passions lie.

For now, work on that list, and remember to always be innoventin’!

Innoventive Principles Comments December 14th, 2009

You have probably heard that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  But, did you know that breaks down when talking about life’s results?

It is true.  For example, what does a person receive who does a poor job at his or her work?  Does he just get poor results?  No, usually the person gets fired if their work is unacceptable, or laid off when the next financial crunch comes along.

What about if a person does a good job?  Should they not get promoted?  Perhaps they should, but that is not how it works.  If a person does a good job, then they receieve average results.  For example, if you start a business that does good, then you will make an average living from it, and it will be worth an average amount.

Let’s go to the great category.  What if a person does a great job? Then they will receive good results.  That is where the promotion to management will come, that is where a person stands out and people begin to take notice.

What about outstanding performance?  Outstanding is the best of the best, and this is where the world becomes their oyster.  No matter what line of work you are in, if you do an outstanding job, the world will want you. You could have a job digging ditches, and if you are one of the best ditch diggers out there, there will always be work for you.

Input vs Output

POOR = NOTHING

GOOD = AVERAGE

GREAT = GOOD

OUTSTANDING = EVERTYTHING

In everything you do, shoot for outstanding.  When you become the greatest, then all the reward is yours.

-Aharon Smith

Innoventive Philosophy, Innoventive Principles Comments December 9th, 2009

Since this is my first post in our new home, under ShopInnovent.com, I find it fitting to connect it to the first post that the blog has ever posted, back in the address of wordpress.

EVERYONE IS A GENIUS

In my first post, I stated something quite bold. I said that we are all innoventors. Now I don’t care how much you think you have no entrepreneurial spirit within or that you are not creative, you are still an innoventor. Remember what an innoventor is? He or she is a combination of an inventor, innovator, and inspirator. I challenge you to put those doubts away and dare to buy into what I am saying.

The reason why I am so convinced that you are so amazing, comes from a message I learned a few years back. I heard it for the first time from Oliver Demille at what was then George Wythe College and it literally changed my life. I still get goose bumps when I think of that day. While I can’t remember exactly how he worded it, he said something to this effect:

“I believe that every person is a genius. Every one of us has a unique set of talents and when they are used, each and every person can change the world”

Think about that for a second: Every person is a genius. Every person can change the world. Now this means that the guy you see at an intersection bumming for change is incredibly bright and has the ability to be the next Tony Robbins. When you truly buy into this philosophy, it changes your perception of humanity. Each and every person becomes a precious, valuable asset with potential beyond our wildest dreams.

I had the opportunity to attend a 12 step program for a few weeks. In there, I got to see some common, ordinary people speak like gods. I met people addicted to all sorts of things and here they were, most feeling like they are worth less than the chair they were sitting in, and yet when they spoke, it was as if an angel had entered the room, and I could feel the power of their words in my heart. Yes my friends, every person is a genius.

When one decides to follow the path of the innoventor, that last statement becomes easily recognized. See, when you take the path of making the world better, you can’t help but tap into your better self and passions. You start to recognize those unique gifts and talents you have, that Demille talked about, and your whole countenance and way of thinking changes. With that realization comes the understanding that if you are amazing, then surely everyone else is!

A deeper understanding will come, for not only do you realize how truly amazing everyone else is, you become dependent on them. You realize that when someone does not become their better self, when someone does not follow the path of the innoventor, then you will suffer for it. That is why I am on a mission to wake the world up. I admit it, I am selfish. I know that my world sucks if you don’t step up and do what you are destined to do. So please, start doing what you love, and be an innoventor.

-Aharon Smith

Innoventive Philosophy, Innoventive Principles Comments December 7th, 2009

Ok I have been saying that word quite a bit and some of you may be wondering… what the heck is that?

Its a word I made up, (at least I thought I did, turns out that there are several websites that beat me to the punch!) but as you can see, it is the merge of the words INVENTOR and INNOVATOR.

INVENTOR:  An inventor is someone who invents things.  That is pretty self-explanatory.  Inventions focus on products or tools.  Thomas Edison is a great example of an inventor and so is Doc Brown.

INNOVATOR: An innovator is similar to an inventor, but they focus on improving systems.  A very famous innovator was Henry Ford.  He did not invent the automobile, but rather innovated the assembly line which made the car affordable for just about everyone.

AN INNOVENTOR IS MUCH MORE THAN THAT… HE OR SHE IS ALSO AN INSPIRATOR

So, while you all are realizing that “innoventor”  is just a clever (or maybe cheesy) way of labeling inventors and innovators, there is one more word I want to add into the mix, and that is inspirator.

INSPIRATOR (not to be confused with the breathing device) is another new word that I think best describes the message I want to get across.

an INSPIRATOR is a person who inspires others to be their best selves.

That is key to being an innoventor.  Sure it is one thing to bring us the spork or make a faster email system, but if we are not focusing on improving humanity, then whats the point?

I will be writing a few more articles this week diving more into this subject. In the meantime, tell me people that you consider to be Innoventors.

-Aharon Smith

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Innoventive Principles Comments December 2nd, 2009

I know this blog will stir some emotions amongst my friends in the freedom movement, and I want to say that I respect and appreciate all that every one of you do in the quest to maintain liberty. I ask that you hear me out on this one.

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Picture from RobW on Flickr

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We have all heard them: secret organizations that control the world, hurricane making machines in Japan, and a new one going around, swine flu inoculations full of household chemicals. Wow! Where do these all come from and perhaps more impelling, why do so many people believe in them?

In all honesty, I am not completely sure. I have been involved in the think outside the box style freedom movement taking place today and I have run into several people who passionately believe in those things that I posted above. So passionately in fact, that they spend most of their online time from what I can tell promoting and sharing information regarding their beliefs. It disappoints me that there is such a focus on these things right now and to see so many involved in the freedom movement quite frankly worries me.

A study of history, leads one to believe that it is probable that there are conspiracy groups out there. The Roman Senate was full of corrupt people who killed anyone trying  to take their power. Look at what happened to the Gracchi brothers.  Industrialized America of the late 19th century had its fair share of conspiring businesses who formed secret pacts to set market prices, and events like the Watergate and Enron scandals come up occasionally in the news.

But to use this as proof that there is a small group of super elitists planning the take over of the entire world? When one dives into this hypothesis, the stretch of the imagination begins, and objective thought is left at the door. Scary things happen when people believe that their very existence is threatened. They will react, and the reaction can come out very badly.

For instance, take Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. Many people died from this man’s overreaction to fear. The worst thing the freedom movement needs now is for someone to perform a similar act.

Now, I am not saying that nothing shady is going on. We should continue to demand answers to the unresolved questions of 9/11 and the Federal Reserve’s deals with international banks. But we cannot be claiming to know things that no one can really know, like the Fed intentionally planned the economic meltdown of 08 or that the government ejected swine flu bacteria from planes to wreak the H1N1 pandemic.

IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO FOCUS ON CONSPIRACY THEORIES

The morning we wake up to find the news reporting that a Federal Reserve Bank has been bombed and it turns out to be another “freedom fighter” like Timothy McVeigh, our entire effort to audit the Federal Reserve and get facts and evidence to the American people will be seriously damaged, if not completely derailed.

We should be thinking of ways that the American people could independently investigate situations like the Federal Reserve and 9-11 so we don’t have a Government that is investigating itself.

We also need to be prepared to be wrong.

If we’re not just as open to the fact that the Government wasn’t involved in planning and carrying out the WTC 9-11 attacks, as we are that they’re guilty, then we’re not seeking truth, we’re seeking blood. That sort of mentality is going to keep many patriotic main-stream Americans at arm’s length or further from listening and joining in the asking of the questions.

FEAR AND PARANOIA ARE ENEMIES TO LIBERTY

If one dives too deep into the realms of conspiracy one inevitably faces those vices of fear and paranoia. Trust in society is lost, and in the extreme sense trust in everyone is lost. History shows us these results, and unfortunately this phenomenon has occurred repeatedly right here in the land of the brave. The Salem witch trials and the red scare brought about by Senator McCarthy are common examples of what happens when the community gets carried away. There are other more serious examples, such as the bloody end of the French Revolution.

For our movement to prevail, we need the voice of the people. The best way to influence is with the principles of liberty. Let love and virtue be our weapons rather than conspiracies! I appreciate you all for reading this. I hope that this has, if anything, brought to your awareness the dangers of focusing on conspiracy theories.

Let’s fight the darkness with light, rather than more darkness.

-Aharon Smith with David Pangrac

Innoventive Politics Comments December 2nd, 2009

My fellow cyber citizens…..

Ok, I don’t want to get into a big, drawn out speech, but I am pleased to announce that the store is up!  I am still working on a few changes on it, to make it more grapically appealing, but check it out:

www.shopinnovent.com

Everything Else Comments December 2nd, 2009