Thomas Alva Edison-Light Bulb – Motto: “Courage rarely has the strength and majesty of a lion’s roar. Most of the time he is just a thin but confident voice that says: <Tomorrow I will try again!>.”

It is said that the famous American inventor  Thomas Alva Edison , the father of the electric light bulb, when he was exhausted by his many (failed) attempts to find a suitable material for the filament of his light bulb, was consoled by an acquaintance: “What a shame”, he said this one, “so many searches and so many efforts and all in vain!”, to which the prolific inventor jumped like a fire: “What are you talking about? What do you mean in vain? Now I know more than 9,000 materials that are not what I need!”.

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We leave aside the idea (very interesting by the way) that follows from here, how experience (or know-how, or skill or whatever you want to call it) mainly means knowing the things that should not be done. What I would ask you to note is the fact that Edison tried over 9,000 times to solve the problem. More than 9,000 times he enthusiastically got to work, more than 9,000 times he nurtured the hope that everything will turn out well and more than 9,000 times he felt the taste of failure. And, remember, we are only talking here about the invention of the electric light bulb, without taking into account all the discouragements that he probably experienced when inventing the phonograph, the kinetoscope, the microphone with coal dust and the other miracles by which he remained in history.

Edison tried 9,000 times, but finally succeeded. It is an example of tenacity that all those entrepreneurs who decide to abandon their business at the first more serious difficulty they encounter should think about. I say this because I have known a lot of people who were really excited about a business opportunity, but who abandoned its implementation due to some “difficulties” that would make any entrepreneur already seasoned in the fight with market.

Business is not a ladies’ game. But before you take a step back in fear, try to imagine what the world would be like today if Edison had done the same.

Mihai Balescu
24.06.2008