Innovative Thinking and Inventions

How old do you think you need to be in order to become a CEO?  What about a writer or illustrator?  How much schooling do you need to be a fashion designer?  What about an entrepreneur?  One might think it would take 2-4 years of college and several years of experience, but at the ripe old age of 8, Maya Penn started doing all of these things!

In her TED Talk, Maya talks about her passions and interests and why she does what she does.  Check out her website (which she coded herself in html) Maya’s Ideas  and watch her TED Talk here:  http://www.ted.com/talks/maya_penn_meet_a_young_entrepreneur_cartoonist_designer_activist.html

I watched a webinar today and learned the meaning of “flow”.  Psychology professor Mihály Csíkszentmihályi coined the term and simply put, flow is a feeling of complete engagement in a creative or playful activity.  You could say Maya Penn experiences ‘flow’ as she designs clothes and creates animations.

What about you?  What do you like to do that creates ‘flow’ in your life? What are your passions and interests?  Are you working on an invention or new idea?  Do you like to write?  Are you composing your own music?

Young people are capable of doing amazing things!  Leave a comment and answer one or more of the above bolded questions.  You can also research a young inventor by using one of the links below.  Feel free to research other inventors and use other sources-just make sure to cite your source!  As an added bonus, I stumbled upon a rubber band contest.  Check it out and start inventing!

iKids: http://www.inventivekids.com/category/young-inventors-2/

Children of Invention: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0768091.html

Rubber Band Contest: http://rubberbandcontest.org/

 

 

9 thoughts on “Innovative Thinking and Inventions

  1. I think that what Maya is doing is great not only because she is 13 and she has a clothes and animation business, but because she is donating 20% of her profit to charity while making sure what she is doing is safe for the environment. The only other person who I can think of that is like her is Ernie in the book The Beloved Dearly. My passions are sports (mainly baseball) and music. I don’t have any inventions now, but this inspires me to think about one.

    1. Thanks for posting Jack! I too like the fact that Maya donates some of her profits to charities and that her products are environment friendly. I haven’t read The Beloved Dearly, but it sounds interesting!

  2. That’s amazing! I’ve tried my hand at sewing but have failed. However, I have owned two businesses and three blogs before and am in the process of opening another business (thanks, dad.) Of course, I’ll do as I always do with my 10% to charity. But animating… This girl is amazing!

    1. I’d love to hear about your businesses! What did you sell? What are you going to sell in your new business? What did you blog about on your blogs?

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