Challenges in the life of Thomas Edison
We have seen Thomas Edison as the father of invention. The question is: did he face any challenge? We probably would expect this great man had a smooth ride through life - a kind of exempted from major life challenges. The simple truth is, he had lots of challenges, may be catalogues of them. The good news, however, is he rose above them all to become the Edison worth reading or talking about today.
The incidence of his 'great plant' that was razed down by fire is one major challenge in the life of Edison worth mentioning. History tells us that on a particular night in December, 1914, Thomas Edison's plant caught fire. The outrageous fire reportedly burnt off virtually everything in the plant. Attempts at putting it out by fire fighters from eight surrounding towns failed to yield the desired result. Edison's attitude and response to this incidence is perhaps the most interesting part of the story.
On arrival at the scene, Edison was said to have sent words to several
friends and members of his family, advising them to “get down here quick ... you
may never have another chance to see anything like this again”. The following morning before it was day break and while the fire was still on, he was said to have called his
employees together and told them “we are rebuilding". Speaking further, Edison maintained “we can make capital out of disaster".
Edison seems to have this attitude of always looking at the brighter side of every situation. He just wouldn't allow any circumstance to deter him from achieving his goals. His responses and attitude in times of difficulty lend credence to this position. For instance, Edison did not have formal education, but that did not stop him from making history as one of the greatest inventors. History says he had partial deafness, but that wasn't an issue to him. He had several fruitless experiments, but wouldn't give in to discouragement. His film plant got burnt off, yet, he resolved to start all over again.
Besides his attitude to life - looking at the bright side of life at all times - Edison had an uncommon passion for hard work. Even after making several inventions, he remained as hardworking as ever or even more hardworking. Furthermore, Edison was a goal oriented individual, part of his goals was
to come up with a major new invention every six months, and a minor invention
every ten days. Any wonder that he had thousands of inventions? Another striking quality in this great man was his ability to manage success. His many achievements, breakthrough inventions and several awards/recognitions never got into his head. Only very few people can maintain this level of discipline.
One valuable lesson here is this "There is no such thing as a failure- there are only unexpected outcomes which will provide valuable guidance for future works".... Brighten up your life
