Thousands of Failures, but Thousands of Patents
Thomas Edison failed thousands of times before he revolutionized the world by inventing and patenting the incandescent light bulb. Because of his desire to create the incandescent light, he was one of the most persistent people in history. The invention in which Edison had the most failures, the incandescent light, was one of his most famous inventions. His persistence also led to many other great inventions. He had patents on items such as electricity, batteries, cement, motion pictures, phonographs, mining, telegraphs and telephones.
Storytelling: Pure Emotional Persuasion
I’ll admit it. I cry at movies sometimes. I’m comfortable with it and not ashamed in the least. Movies are stories and stories have been used to elicit emotions (either by design or accident) since the beginning of man. Some of the most fantastic stories are tremendously moving. This emotion can be manifested as a ‘feel good’ or a ‘tear jerker’, it can be uplifting or depressing, revolutionary, or merely entertaining. The most important thing to keep upper most in your mind a…
Timing In Goal-Setting
When most of us set goals, we hold an expectation that everything will work out as planned. We have this picture in our minds of a smooth process from start to finish, easily achieving our goals without a hitch. This is especially true when it comes to the timing of our desired results!
Let’s face it; we wouldn’t be setting goals in the first place if we didn’t believe they were possible to achieve. Even if we expect a fair amount of difficulty in reaching our goals, we us…
Use Self Belief To Shape Your Own Destiny
Of all the things that go towards shaping our destiny, it is our belief in our own abilities which has the greatest influence. Our level of self belief determines whether we succeed or fail to achieve our dreams and ambitions. As Henry Ford said “If you think you can, you’re right. If you think you can’t, you’re right.”
I was watching a program on the Biography Channel the other day which illustrated the truth of Henry Ford’s words and highlighted the importance of se…
Being Slow? It’s a Go!
Brandon had always been thought of as “slow.” He talked slowly; he walked slowly; he read slowly and he ate slowly. He was a nine-year-old boy in fourth grade. Many of Brandon’s classmates made fun of him because he could not process information quickly.
Gordie Taught Them All Howe
Gordie Howe entered the National Hockey League in 1946 at the age of eighteen. Entering the NHL at 18 has been common among many young professional hockey players throughout the decades, but what Howe did in his career was anything but common. Howe played in over 2,400 games, scored over 1,000 goals and over 1,500 assists during his career. He was on four Stanley Cup Champion teams with the Detroit Red Wings.
Great Century, by George
George Burns’ career could have ended as early as 1958, when his wife Gracie Allen retired from Show business. Burns continued the show after Allen retired, but the show was cancelled after one season. Burns could have let his wife’s retirement from show business stop him from going further in his career, but he ultimately ended up being a huge comic success and lived to be 100 years old.
Motivation By A Challenge
Many humans are motivated by the thought of doing something they or others think they cannot do. They don’t want to do what they already know they can do. They are also motivated, as one commentator on this article wisely mentioned, by success. Succeed and then the motivation will arrive in bucket loads.
We Are What Our Habits Make Us
We are what our habits make us. They are either moving us forward or holding us back. Good habits, once developed, are what drive a person toward success and accomplishment.
Abe Lincoln: An Extraordinary Leader
Perhaps noted as one of the greatest United States presidents of all time, Abraham Lincoln’s early life may not have reflected his potential greatness. He failed in business. He lost election to the state legislature, Speaker of the House, nomination for Congress, appointment of land officer, U.S. Senate twice and nomination for Vice President. After those eight major failures, Lincoln was elected President of the United States. How many of us would have kept going like Lincoln did?