Reflecting on Edison’s Perseverance
From a young age, Edison wanted to master skills. For example, to become a telegraph operator, he needed to know Morse code. So he taught himself the combinations of short and long signals that were used in place of letters and numbers.
Even as he lost his hearing, Edison didn’t give up. He discovered that he could concentrate for long periods of time without being distracted, which allowed him to keep working on tasks. Through dedication and hard work, he achieved important goals and solved challenging problems.
The perseverance Edison developed in his youth resulted in perhaps his most famous invention: the electric light bulb. It’s often noted that Edison and his team failed 10,000 times before designing a bulb that worked.
Take Notes
Reflect on what you saw in the video and just read. Here are some quotations that Edison is credited with saying. Which quote about perseverance would you choose as a caption for a photograph of Edison (like the one above)? Why? Write your answer in the notes box below.
- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
- “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
- “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
- “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven’t.”
- “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
