YWAM Information Technology

Extracted from: http://www.ywamafrica.org/Lounge/Articles/persev.htm

Thomas EdsonThomas Edison died several years ago, but his legacy lives on. More than an inventor, he remains the perfect example of what can be accomplished with perseverance and little else.

Thomas Edison, an undeniable genius, invented the phonograph, the light bulb, the motion picture camera, and dozens of other devices that shape our world today. He held more than a thousand patents and founded the General Electric company.

Yet, this was a man who developed hearing loss in childhood and became partially deaf in his early teens. He attended school for only three months. He was taught by his mother and later taught himself because the teachers in his community felt he was not smart enough to attend school

So while Albert Einstein was defined as a genius based on his extraordinary intellectual and creative power from birth, Edison was a different kind of genius.

Edison had the genius of both an inventor and an entrepreneur. His methods and work ethic added value to every community and society around the world.

While working towards the invention of the light bulb, he once said, ‘I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will.’ Edison always managed to learn something every day of his life.

Edison’s work on the light bulb says a lot about his perseverance. By mid-winter of 1879, Edison had built his first incandescent electric light bulb. But the lamp burned only for a few short hours. So, Edison tested 6000 fibres, and searched the world for ‘the most suitable filament materials’.

By the end of 1880, Edison had produced a 16-watt bulb with a special carbonised cotton filament that could last 1 500 hours.

To put it succinctly, failure is not fatal. Succumbing to failure is!

There are ‘modern-day Edisons’ all around us. With nothing more than a little praise and some shared confidence, they can help ensure that our business future is secure and will endure successfully for decades to come. Find them and nurture them among your neighbors, friends and co-workers. You might prove to be a genius at this business yourself. All it takes is a good dose of inspiration, lots of perspiration, and of course, a little thing called perseverance.

What will be you legacy 75 years from now?

Steve Van Andel an Doug De Vos in AMAGRAM; August 2006