Your Invention Isn't You

Inventors often get wrapped up in their creations. You spend months or years developing an idea, solving problems, refining details, and finally holding something real in your hands. It feels like part of you. But here’s the problem: if your ego gets tied too closely to the invention, you’re setting yourself up for frustration—and maybe failure.

The invention is a project. You are you. Keep them separate.

Feedback Is Fuel, Not a Fight

Every invention will be tested by outsiders—investors, partners, customers, manufacturers. They’ll poke, prod, criticize, and question. Some of it will sting. If you see those critiques as attacks on your self-worth, you’ll miss the value.

The trick is simple: detach. Treat feedback as free R&D. Every objection is a clue about what the market, or your partner, really cares about. Instead of defending, listen. Instead of explaining away, ask why. The harshest comment may point to the improvement that makes your invention a winner.

Negotiating Without Ego

A licensing deal, investment, or sale is not a referendum on you as a person. It’s just business.

If your identity is wrapped up in the invention, then every offer feels too low and every concession feels like a loss. That’s how inventors end up killing deals that could have brought them success.

The market doesn’t care how much you love your invention. It cares about the value created. Ask yourself:

• Does this deal move the invention toward commercialization?

• Does this partner bring reach and resources?

• Am I chasing fantasy numbers or making rational choices?

When you answer those questions without ego, you’ll make smarter decisions and strike better deals.

Keeping Creativity Alive

Your invention is important, but it’s not the only one you’ll ever have. If you tie your entire identity to a single project, failure becomes unbearable—and fear kills creativity.

Great inventors know invention is a process, not a one-time event. Some ideas succeed, others don’t. Each one teaches you something. By staying separate from your invention, you keep the door open for the next idea, and the one after that.

Bottom Line

Your invention matters. But it isn’t you. By separating your ego from the work, you gain three big advantages:

• Feedback becomes insight instead of insult.

• Negotiations stay rational instead of emotional.

• Creativity thrives instead of getting crushed.

Next time you show your invention, remind yourself: they’re judging the work, not your worth. That shift in mindset could be the most valuable invention you’ll ever make.

If you’d like honest feedback and suggestions on next steps for your invention, check out our Brutally Honest Review.

- Mike Marks