I had this incredible opportunity to hear Evan Edwards, of Intelliject, speak at the Bryon Innovation Lab at the Steward School’s Board, Faculty, and Staff Dinner on Monday evening. I have been sharing one of his statements throughout the week and thought I could expand on it here. Edwards said,

“It is rare to innovate from scratch. Our experiences give us ideas.” 

We speak so much of innovation and creativity, but do not focus on why we innovate or create.  Evan and his twin brother were inspired through their experiences of being highly allergic and needing to carry an EpiPen with them through every situation.  They took issue with the size, safety, and convenience of the EpiPen and charged themselves with the responsibility to enhance the experience for other patients.  Evan and his brother went on to study engineering and medicine, respectfully, and about a month ago released Auvi-Q onto the market. Auvi-Q is a compact epinephrine auto-injector for severe allergic reactions that talks you through the injection process step by step. Just this past Sunday, Auvi-Q was used to save a young boy’s life and Evan was in tears sharing the sentiment that in just saving that one life- all the work was worth it.

Every innovative or creative idea will not result in a life saved, but this story truly helped me shift the way I think about how, and why, people are creative. It takes a highly self-aware individual, one who is consciously present and passionate about the moment to discover a space they can innovate change. The Edwards brothers were passionate about reforming the life threatening allergy experience, so they changed it.

As you bring conscious awareness to your daily life, I urge you to find a space that allows your creativity to positively impact a space. As I wrap this blog post up I am walking into a meeting to help brainstorm and improve the onboarding process here at Luck Companies. Since I am personally going through this onboarding experience, I have real time feedback – which is a result of my genuine interest in having new associates learn and grow from this organization. My passion is allowing me to innovate and create as we move into the future.

What are you passionate enough about that you are willing to enhance that space and positively affect change?