“I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
Thomas Edison.
Failure! Failure! Failure!
That much dreaded result that no one wants or expects to have. The society abhors it, and individuals have learnt to do same. Failure is the inability to; achieve a preset goal, hit a preset aim or target, inability to get a particular/expected result, or plainly the inability to achieve a preset objective. It occurs due to: difficulty of the task, lack of adequate preparation for the task, or occurrence of ‘unseen circumstances’ during the process of trying to achieve a preset goal or result.
Failure as defined by the inventor is the process of learning how not to do a thing (a learning process!). From his definition, we are to view failure from a positive standpoint. Thomas Edison who discovered the electric light bulb did not find it to be an all easy or ‘rossy’ venture. It is widely known that he had a couple of failures and setbacks in the quest for the electric light bulb. These failures where more than enough to discourage him from going further but his mentality, perception, and dedication kept him going at a time when intellectuality could do little or nothing to assuage the fears and doubts that had been built in the minds of those around -at that time-. He could as well have given up and relented from moving further and the price to pay would be a society of huts and lanterns in the 21st century and beyond, up until another ‘Edison’ came along. Edison’s numerous failures were not a result of laziness or a lack of preparedness for as we can read from an excerpt culled from a Microsoft Encarta article on his life and work ethic:
“Edison worked on his experiments with extraordinary intensity. He lived in his laboratory, getting along on four hours of sleep a day and eating meals brought to him by an assistant. He often kept vigils of 48 and even 72 hours when an experiment neared completion. Often, as in the cases of the electric light, the storage battery, and the experiments on synthetic rubber, success or failure depended on the discovery of a suitable material. In each case, he conducted thousands of experiments to find the right materials.Before starting an experiment, Edison tried to read all the literature on the subject to avoid repeating experiments that other people had already conducted.” Perhaps the best illustration of Edison's working methods is his own famous statement: 'Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Accordingly a ‘genius’ is often merely a talented person who has done all of his homework.’
A Day with Thomas Edison
In 1922 filmmakers recorded a day in the life of American inventor Thomas Edison. From the first practical version of the lightbulb to systems for distributing electricity, Edison’s inventions quickly became essential to modern life. As seen in this film, he continued to work at his laboratories into his late 70s.
From the above we deduce and rightly so that Thomas Edison was rather a workaholic, he focused on his work so much that he spent little time with his family. He avoided most social situations, and often wore dirty shirts and shabby working clothes. Many of his associates also spoke of Edison’s virtues, however, such as good humor, even disposition, honesty, and genuine affection for his family.
Now we are left to wonder how a man with such work ethic -who seemed to at all time dot his I’s and cross his T’s- could have had as much failures as he did. Edison was always well researched and prepared for his experiments and work before he engaged in them. So we see, clearly, that failure was only a part of his preparation. In more than a few occasions they clearly paid off. I wouldn’t be wrong to say that if he had not failed severally he wouldn’t have succeeded once - so true- and I am sure he knew that and so he seemed to ‘enjoy’ it, though he hoped to change it (succeed).
We must learn to always be positive, because that same positivity is what we would breathe into all that we do and those around us: giving birth to hope, for ourselves and others. The message is not to love ‘failing’, but to use it as a stepping stone to greater success. To see every bad result as an opportunity to do better in the next try. To see every ‘No’ as an opportunity to ask again and get a ‘Yes’. To see every time we get knocked down and out as an opportunity to get right back-in and get victory in a rematch. To see every time we miss a target or goal as an opportunity to aim again and score a point... in whatever endeavour. Failure is a good enough reason to try again at succeeding. As a popular saying goes; nothing good comes easy and so we just have to try, try, and try again till we get it right. For the person we need to feel pity for is not the man who keeps on falling but the man who falls and never gets up.
Our motto should be; never back down regardless of what may, keep up the fight, stay in that race, with your eyes on the prize, for when you at the end brace the tape, all the sweat and tears shed on the way shall do nothing but make your victory priceless and your tale more sweet to the ear.
HOLD ON!!
Written by
Okoli Godson.
No comments:
Post a Comment