Thousands of Failures, but Thousands of Patents

Home
>
Innovation
>
Thousands of Failures, but Thousands of Patents

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.

How many times have you failed in your endeavors? When you were learning how to ride a bike, roller skate, play the piano, learn a foreign language, etc., didn't you fail many times?

Many modern conveniences are the result of Edison's ingenuity. Edison did amazing things simply by persevering.

1. Edison was persistent

After fifty years of efforts to create a long-lasting incandescent light bulb, Edison achieved success with the incandescent light bulb. Edison needed a material that would be compatible to form a long-lasting filament. He initially tried platinum, which only worked for about one to two hours. He tried carbon, which had the highest melting point. When carbon didn't seem to work, Edison tried boron, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, nickel, platinum (again). Finally, Edison got carbon to work as a filament material for his light bulb, which lit for over 40 hours.

What are some of the things that you are doing in your life and careers? Do you like what you are doing for a living? Are there other things that you would like to be doing as a career? You may ask, "what if I try something and it doesn't work?" Try something else. And if you're not successful, try again! Reference the example with a baby learning how to walk. How do most people walk? They kept on trying, no matter how long it took, to walk.

2. Edison learned how to meet the unmet need

The classic marketing philosophy says to "fill the unmet need." Edison invented practical items that a majority of the population could use, such as the light bulb, the phonograph, batteries, etc.

Edison not only could invent things, he could invent practical things. Every one of us has practical skills that we can offer the world. The world needs your talents much like the world needed Edison's talents. What are some ideas that you have that would meet the unmet need? What are you seeing around you that could be improved? Edison did the same pondering and look at how much he accomplished.

3. Edison knew he could invent something when he was determined

Edison's quest to invent the incandescent light bulb took him about four years. About his electric light experiments, he said "I was never myself discouraged or inclined to be hopeless of success." Edison knew that he could find a way to make the light bulb work and to be a practical item for the general public to use.

For those of you involved in obtaining goals, are you determined enough that you are going to succeed? Do you have that attitude of accomplishing something no matter what?

Edison saw thousands of better ways of doing things. He had to literally make many things happen in order to achieve success. Edison did not think that any of his failures were actually "failures." Edison said "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is just one more step forward...." Do you turn your "mistakes" into learning experiences? Adopt the same attitude as Edison did. Learn from mistakes. Be persistent.

North Notes is a writing and researching company, which primarily helps writers gain focus, motivation, remove mental blocks that help to unblock the writing process. EVERYONE who writes has been stuck at some point in his or her career. You do not have to accept these mind-boggling roadblocks!

http://www.northnotes.com

(586) 216-7516

In The News:

TIME
Is Innovation Dead — Or Doing Just Fine, Thank You?
TIME
But Facebook isn't the only concern of the innovation-worriers. In the Washington Post, tech writer Joshua Topolsky takes a look at the latest batch of allegedly cutting-edge smart phones and finds them all distressingly same-y.
Facebook Is More Proof Innovation Is Thriving In Silicon ValleyForbes

all 4 news articles »

SOLVAY OPENS A MAJOR INNOVATION CENTRE IN INDIA
Reuters
Brussels and Savli, 25 May 2012, at 7:30 am SOLVAY OPENS A MAJOR INNOVATION CENTRE IN INDIA New Research, Development and Technology Centre to focus on high-performance polymers, organic chemistry, nano composites and green chemistry Solvay is today ...

and more »

CompuCom Is Honored By SkillSoft and Industry Leaders for Innovation in Learning
MarketWatch (press release)
DALLAS, May 25, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CompuCom Systems, Inc. has been awarded a 2012 SkillSoft Perspectives Innovation in Learning Honorable Mention Award for Inspiring Leadership Development. Along with twelve others, CompuCom was honored at the ...

and more »

NutraIngredients-usa.com
Senate Passes FDA Safety And Innovation Act
Sacramento Bee
By Consumers Union WASHINGTON, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Senate approved the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act today. While the legislation includes some improvements over current law, it leaves significant flaws ...
Alexander Says FDA Safety And Innovation Act Affects Every American FamilyThe Chattanoogan
US Senate Adds Synthetic Substance 2C-E to Bill That Could Ban Synthetic DrugsNorthland's NewsCenter
Senate passes FDA reauthorizationThe Hill (blog)

all 278 news articles »

Post Online
Innovation Group's New Version of Insurer Conversion Enhances Capability of ...
MarketWatch (press release)
FARMINGTON, CT, May 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Innovation Group plc (Innovation Group), a global provider of business process services and software solutions to the insurance, fleet, automotive and property industries, today released a new ...
Innovation Group Releases New Insurer ConversionInsurance Networking News
INNOVATION GROUP PLC : - US Contract Win4-traders
Innovation Group profits from insurancePost Online

all 10 news articles »

CarteNav Solutions Inc. Awarded Atlantic Innovation Funding (AIF)
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Halifax, NS (PRWEB) May 24, 2012 ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF) is an initiative through which the Government of Canada is making strategic investments aimed at increasing Atlantic Canada's innovation capacity. This program is highly-competitive ...

and more »

Globe and Mail
Canadian innovations get to market faster
Globe and Mail
A stronger emphasis on development by governments and research-funding organizations may be helping Canadian entrepreneurs get their innovations to market faster. But experts say a stubborn innovation gap remains, particularly in life sciences.

Philadelphia Inquirer (blog)
Cable Must Step Up Innovation, says Comcast and Time Warner
Philadelphia Inquirer (blog)
While the media focused on the new Wi-Fi hotspot roaming agreement announced this week at The Cable Show, there was lots more innovation popping up at the Boston trade event - new platforms, apps and services. And in panel discussions, chief technology ...

and more »

TripleTree Announces the 2012 iAwards Winners
MarketWatch (press release)
Four finalists in three different categories, Operational Innovation, Clinical Innovation and Consumer Innovation, had been previously announced on April 25. The twelve finalists were AwarePoint, Centene, Consult-a-Doctor, CureMD, eviti, Fitlinxx, ...

and more »

Vivaldi Partners Group Sponsoring World Innovation Forum
San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Global Brand and Innovation Strategy Consulting Firm Kicking Off WIF with Workshop New York, NY (PRWEB) May 24, 2012 Vivaldi Partners Group (www.vivaldipartners.com/) will kick off the World Innovation Forum on June 20th with a sponsored workshop on ...

and more »

Google News