Diving into the story, lessons, and greatness of  Thomas Edison from Edmund Morris'  book:  Edison

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3:20  - Childhood Adversity

His greatness was clearly to be seen when difficulties arose. They always made him cheerful, and started him thinking; and very soon would come a line of suggestions which would not end until the difficulty was met or found insurmountable. 

6:20 - Turning Point

I am twenty one. I may not live to be fifty. Can I get as much done as he did? I have got so much to do and life is so short, I am going to hustle.

9:40  - Obsession

In the early 1870s he had a rush order for thirty thousand dollars worth of the Edison Stock printers, then being manufactured according to a much improved model he had lately developed. But these new instruments turned out to have “bugs” in them and refused to perform as they were supposed. Edison then called together a half dozen of his devoted helpmates, and informed them that he intended to shut himself up with them in the laboratory on the top floor of the Ward Street Factory until they had located the cause of the trouble. “Now you fellows. I’ve locked the door, and you’ll have to stay here until the job is completed. Well let’s find the ‘bugs.’”


13:15 - On Genius

Genius is “99 percent perspiration and one percent inspiration.”

14:00 - Impact > Money

“I don’t care so much about making my fortune as far I do for getting ahead of the other fellows.”


16:30 - Facing Failure

Why man, I’ve got a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work.

One Final Note

“The problem with other inventors is that they try a few things and quit. I never quit until I get what I want.”

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