EDISON IS A GOOD MODEL

WHY EDISON IS A GOOD MODEL …

There was a post made (in PLS's Facebook page) earlier on Thomas A Edison, the American inventor and entrepreneur … For those who do not know, here are some pointers why I think we can all learn from Edison …

I use Edison as a good example to show young people that you can succeed - if you want to. Edison may not know everything ... but he knew a lot and his life has taught the world many things. Here are a few pointers that I have learned from him since I first read his biography in 1990.

1. WITHOUT SWEAT, YOU GAIN NOTHING. His famous quote is: "Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." If you want to succeed in anything you do, you must be ready to sweat. (Champion athletes apply the same principle. You cannot win your soccer match in front of a TV screen – for five days a week. You’ve got to be out there on the field, sweating it out.)

2. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A UNI GRADUATE TO MAKE IT GOOD ... He left school after only three months in school. And yet he accumulated knowledge and information by self-learning - an opportunity that is available to any who wants to “really” learn.

3. HE ALSO BUILT A COMPANY ... Without any degree. He was also friends with Henry Ford, the car manufacturer. In fact, at one time Ford worked for him ... and learned from him.

4. HIS ACHIEVEMENTS ARE UNPARALLELED ... He invented the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph (the first sound-recording device) ... (He loved music.) ... and made developments to the telephone, movie pictures and held more than 1,000 patents.

5. HE READ ... He read shelves and shelves of books before he was a teen. (I try to remind the small ones I see and talk to about reading. I use his life as a good example of someone who read – not just on telegraph but on the classics, Greek classics and the best literature of his days.)

6. HE IS CREATIVE ... That is clearly seen in the number of patents he took out. Musicians, writers, playwrights and inventors are creative people and can learn a few things from this person’s life. (People who want to be sociable need to be creative too, in a sense – as in the way you know what to say, how to say it … and of course, when to stop talking – and listen. Those are “creative skills” too.)

7. HE IS A MODEL FOR THE TOP INNOVATORS TODAY … If you read long enough on Steve Jobs (the late) and Bill Gates, you will see them pointing to Edison in some way.  

With that, I wish you all the best. Keep moving.