The light bulb. One of the greatest inventions of all time. Something we all take for granted, accessible with the simple flip of a switch.
We tend to not consider the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the creation of things that have become so essential to our lives.
Question: How long did it take Thomas Edison to invent the light bulb? (note: Edison didn’t actually invent the light bulb, but was the first to put all the pieces together into a workable “system” that made it commercially useable).
Answer: for just the all-important FILAMENT (which was only ONE of the 7 elements that needed to be invented for a light bulb to be practical), Edison tested more than . . . 1600 materials!
1600 materials tested=1600 separate experiments.
1600. And that’s for just ONE of the 7 parts of a light bulb.
There are a few lessons to be extracted from this, but what grabs me the most is Edison’s PERSISTENCE. He kept at it.
He always had one more “let me try again” left in his tank. One more push.
What if Edison had quit at attempt #1500? I think the world may have understood. Come on. He certainly would’ve had my blessing to stop at 1000.
But Edison kept at it. He persisted. One more try. Let me take another crack at it.
What drives a person to try, and “fail”, and try again, 1600 times?
Amazing, isn’t it? Or IS it? I have the feeling that Edison wouldn’t have thought it so amazing that he made that many attempts. My guess is that, to him—“How could I NOT keep trying?!”
If he actually would’ve said that, why WOULD it be a no-brainer to him--to keep trying?
My guess: he had STRONG BELIEF in at least three things:
- that it was POSSIBLE for this light bulb to be created
- that HE had the skills and abilities to pull it off
- that he was GETTING CLOSER to pulling it off
These three things must’ve fueled Edison into persisting, until that magical day when it all came together.
We can get a glimpse into Edison’s mindset when he was once asked how it felt to fail 999 times, to which he replied, “I have not failed 999 times. I have simply found 999 ways how not to create a light bulb.”
Regarding the light bulb project, Edison said, “I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success . . .”
Really? He wasn't discouraged after trying a thousand times? Again, amazing.
Edison was mentally tough—he knew how to reframe “failure” into a useful learning opportunity, each time moving him closer to success.
What about you? How are YOU at persisting? This is often the difference between success and failure, between incremental change and exponential change.
Is there something that you need to keep persisting in?
Now, there ARE times to STOP persisting. Yes. This is crucial to remember.
Generally speaking, though, people tend to quit things way too soon, and tend to be WEAK in their “persistence muscles”.
But still, there are times when it’s actually SMART to quit. I prefer the word “stop”—that there are times when it’s smart to stop.
What criteria could we use to know if we should STOP pursuing a particular target or course of action?
Go back a few paragraphs—Edison had a strong belief (I assumed, anyway) in these 3 things. But I presume he would have STOPPED if he:
- DIDN’T believe it was possible for a light bulb to be created=STOP
- DIDN’T have the skills and abilities to pull it off (AND if he figured it wasn’t worth it to go obtain these skills)=STOP
- DIDN’T perceive that he was getting any closer (and any future progress he made wouldn’t be worth his time and effort)=STOP
Whether or not to persist, then, is a choice. YOUR choice.
Don’t stop too soon, whatever else you do.
You don’t want to be like the old gold miner who stopped digging, only to have another gold miner come behind him and, with a few swings of his pick-axe, strike a vein of gold. Oooo, so close.
Persist, my friends.
Keep at it. You may be closer than you think.
--Sean Cox, Chicago