How does the song go?

"Most people just sit on their butts,
They've got the dream but not the guts"

Hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Joe, but ideas and inventions are a dime a dozen. Most successful products don't start out that way (bottom up). They start with a market niche and an existing product with some weaknesses.

If you start with this "top down" approach, you will already know who your customers are and how to sell to them. Only then should you "invent" something.

Unless you have a clear track record of your ideas making other people rich, you're probably better off buying lottery tickets than trying to sell just an idea.

Also, you're wrong about patents. If you have nothing else. a patent gives you some credibility and shows that you are at least somewhat serious about your product.