--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have always thought of myself as an…" description: "\"I have always thought of myself as an inventor first and foremost. An engineer. An entrepreneur. In that order. I never thought of myself as an employe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/aaron-patzer-14148_adult_i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-an-in_2999355.png" --- # I have always thought of myself as an inventor first and… ![“I have always thought of myself as an inventor first and foremost. An engineer. An entrepreneur. In that order. I never thought of myself as an employee. But my first jobs as an adult were as an employee: at IBM, and then at my first start-up.” quote by Aaron Patzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/aaron-patzer-14148_adult_i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-an-in_2999355.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/aaron-patzer-14148_adult_i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-an-in_2999355.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/aaron-patzer-14148_adult_i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-an-in_2999355.png) > “I have always thought of myself as an inventor first and foremost. An engineer. An entrepreneur. In that order. I never thought of myself as an employee. But my first jobs as an adult were as an employee: at IBM, and then at my first start-up.” [Aaron Patzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-patzer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identify as an inventor and entrepreneur first; employment is a means, not identity. **In simple terms:** Inventor first, employee later. Key Takeaway Focus on creation over employment. Themes entrepreneurship identity career Mood ambitious thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - startup founding - career transitions Key Concepts innovation business building Questions to Reflect On - What drives your creative identity? - How to balance creation and employment? A Different Perspective Risk of undervaluing teamwork. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Inventor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventor/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Start up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-up/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [The start-up life kept me busy and surfaced the problem of not being able to stay on top of my personal finances, which led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-patzer/the-start-up-life-kept-me-busy-and-surfaced-the-problem-of-not-being/) [Aaron Patzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-patzer/) > [AAP is like a start-up. 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Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [It's much harder these days as a start-up to do physical devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/it-s-much-harder-these-days-as-a-start-up-to-do-physical-devices/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [Believe it or not, the first spark for everything I've done today came down to me meeting one person in college who changed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-bisnow/believe-it-or-not-the-first-spark-for-everything-i-ve-done-today-came/) [Elliott Bisnow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-bisnow/) > [Like many start-up stories, mine has been rocky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/like-many-start-up-stories-mine-has-been-rocky/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [Lease terms don't fit start-up lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-hirschfeld/lease-terms-don-t-fit-start-up-lives/) [Alexa Hirschfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-hirschfeld/) ## More by Aaron Patzer > [Solve a real problem. 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Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [You know, children philosophize more than adults - and they are critical of adults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/you-know-children-philosophize-more-than-adults-and-they-are-critical/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“There's such an intimate kind of beauty in the act of listening to music being created right in front of your eyes, watching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/there-s-such-an-intimate-kind-of-beauty-in-the-act-of-listening-to/) [M.C. 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