Ingenuity, Innovation, Loss, and Patience...

When trying to affect change, I've found that there are four basic principles we need to embrace.
Now we could simply sit back and wait for change to happen around us. We could even wait for "the right train" and jump on board. We could then just ride the train until it stopped, then look for the next train.

But there's something inherently wrong with that philosophy for me. I don't like waiting for the train... especially when I don't know where it's going.

Therefore, those of us who decide to take personal responsibility for change are going to have to start our own train. However, with this idea, there comes some duty.
Ingenuity:
When deciding on change, one must be willing to be creative. One of my favorite sayings is, "A little revolution is good".
We can't keep doing the same things and expect new results. New ideas are paramount. Asking the tough questions like, "why do we..." is key.
Innovation:
Implementing the new ideas and testing them; studying the results, and deciding on a plan of action based on our results is the key to effective change.
New ideas, without testing and implementation, are just theories.
Put simply, they're nothing more than dreams.
Loss:
When trying out new ideas, we have to realize that some of them won't work. That's okay though. Not everything new is good, but not trying that one idea may be what's stopping you from true change and innovation. When trying to invent the light bulb, Alexander Graham Bell found many, many ways that "didn't work". It didn't dissuade him. He just needed one way for a light bulb to "work". He found it. Also, we have to understand that not everyone is going to be willing to jump on board with us when we try new things. When we experience loss, we must be willing to embrace it, learn from it, and move forward.
Patience:
Another favorite quote of mine is, "Rome wasn't built in a day".
It holds true every day. We must be willing to put in the time it takes to affect change. Just because things aren't happening as quickly as we'd like them to doesn't mean things aren't changing. Patience is the key. We must wait on inspiration, then wait on a plan, then wait on the implementation, then wait on the results, then wait for the analysis of the results.
That's a lot of waiting, but it's worth it.

So... for those of you who are willing to jump start your own train, be ready for these four things and be willing to embrace them. You'll succeed.