Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product

In the words of Lonnie Johnson, engineer, inventor, and creator of the beloved Super Soaker, there is a confession that burns with the weight of struggle and perseverance: “Being an independent inventor is tough. You develop a product, patent it, then you’re looking for someone who will see the benefit from this technology. You assume all the investment and all the risk. It can be a challenge.” Though he speaks of his own journey, these words rise above his story and become a timeless lesson about the cost of creation and the lonely road of those who dare to bring forth what has never been seen before.

For to be an independent inventor is to stand alone before the unknown. Unlike the worker who labors under a master or the soldier who follows a general, the inventor must carve his own path. He dreams of a product, protects it with a patent, and then faces the greater struggle: convincing others that what he has birthed is worthy. This is no easy task, for most of the world clings to the familiar, fearing the untested. Thus, the inventor carries not only the burden of creation, but also the burden of persuasion.

Johnson speaks too of investment and risk. To walk this path is to place one’s own fortune, one’s time, and one’s very life on the line. There is no guarantee that the world will embrace the vision. Many inventors have died unknown, their creations buried with them, only to be rediscovered centuries later. Yet without their courage to assume this risk, the wheel, the compass, the printing press, and even electricity would never have come into being. This is the crucible of invention: sacrifice before recognition, faith before reward.

History bears witness to this truth. Consider Nikola Tesla, who labored tirelessly to bring forth alternating current, radio, and countless other marvels. He worked often in poverty, unappreciated in his own lifetime, shouldering the full risk of his experiments. Or think of the Wright brothers, mocked and dismissed until at last their flying machine lifted from the sands of Kitty Hawk. They too assumed the burden of ridicule, cost, and danger so that humanity could take to the skies. Such stories reveal that every true innovator has walked the same lonely road that Johnson describes.

The meaning of the quote is thus: invention is not only about ideas but about endurance. The inventor must possess not only creativity, but also resilience, courage, and the willingness to face failure alone. To dream is easy, but to bear the challenge of turning dream into reality—at great cost and great risk—is the work of the few, the heroic. In this, Johnson speaks not only of his own life but of the eternal pattern of creation.

Yet within his words there is also hope. For though the road is difficult, the fruit of persistence can be sweet. Johnson’s Super Soaker, born of trial and risk, became one of the world’s best-selling toys, bringing joy to millions. His story reminds us that though the way of the inventor is harsh, it is also filled with the possibility of transformation—of changing both one’s own life and the lives of countless others.

The lesson for us is clear: whether you are an inventor, an artist, or a dreamer of any kind, you must be prepared to bear both the investment and the risk of your vision. Do not expect the world to embrace your ideas instantly. Be ready for rejection, for delay, for solitude. Yet do not give up—for every invention that endures began as a lonely dream carried by one who refused to let it die.

So let Lonnie Johnson’s words be remembered as both a warning and a charge: that the path of creation is hard, but worthy. Take courage, endure the struggle, and carry your vision forward even when the burden is heavy. For though the challenge is great, the reward is greater still—the birth of something new into the world, carried on the shoulders of your patience, sacrifice, and unyielding will.