The Resilient Inventor

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~Thomas Edison, American Inventor

Thomas Edison holds more than 1,000 patents for his inventions. Legend has it that it took him thousands of designs and prototypes of the lightbulb before he finally got it right on just that one invention. There are countless examples of how he tried and failed in his career.

It is hard to imagine what our world would be like if Edison had given up after his first few failures. His resilience gave the world some of the most amazing inventions of the early 20th century, such as the phonograph, the telegraph and the motion picture.

His inspiring story forces us to look at our own lives—do we have the resilience we need to overcome our challenges? Or do we let our failures derail our dreams? And what could we accomplish if we had the strength not to give up?