Posts Tagged Finish Line
Thomas Edison’s Light Bulb
Posted by Mike Lopez in Newsletter on November 17, 2009
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Thomas Alva Edison, also called the “Wizard of Menlo Park” by a newspaper reporter, is one of the most often cited personalities in history when it comes to dealing with failure and focusing on goals. It is unclear how many times Thomas Edison failed in his tests before he invented the first practical, long lasting light bulb but it is widely accepted that he tried thousands of times before he discovered the best filament to use.
There are other inventors at the time who were also developing light bulbs but it was Thomas Edison who got it to the finish line. His name is forever etched in history not because he was the first but simply because he was the most persistent, the most flexible, and possibly the most cunning as well. As with many successful inventors, he too knows how to handle failure successfully. Qualities like these define a true winner.
He too was a visionary, a trait displayed when Edison made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, in Menlo Park. It was during this time that he said: “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.” – these words I often remember when I see expensive candle light dinners in first class restaurants. LOL.
Finally, I think it’s worth saying that he did not invent the light bulb. What Thomas Edison did was simply innovate, improving what others before him have already achieved. Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia that best shows Edison’s innovativeness:
In addressing the question “Who invented the incandescent lamp?” historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Wilson Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison’s version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high resistance lamp that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable.
In summary, Thomas Alva Edison is a man with focus, persistence and determination. He too knows how to handle failure, a visionary and an innovator. Lastly, I think it is rightful to say that there’s a Thomas Edison in all of us. We all have our light bulbs to create and we all have the obligation of lighting up the world one way or another.
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The Finish Line
Posted by Mike Lopez in Newsletter on October 11, 2009
Life is like a race. There’s a start and there’s an end. The same can be said for every little aspect of life. There will always be a starting a line and a goal. It is upto one’s desire whether he wishes ti finish the race or not.
I am writing this short article for a single purpose – to encourage you and the rest to just keep on going and going. Go on until you can no longer go, reach for the goal until you’ve exhausted all your energy. That’s what defines a winner. To me, it’s not about getting their first nor is it being the fastest or the strongest. To me this concept of “winning” is nothing compared to what I believe winning is all about.
Winning is about persistence. It’s about how far you can go and it’s about whether or not you will do whatever it takes just to achieve your goal. In a race, some will be ahead, some will be left behind, some will be fast and some will be slow but all will be winners so long as they reach the finish line. That’s what I believe in.
It may take you days, months or years before you can reach your goal. People may start discouraging you but winning is about getting focused and not getting distracted by what others are saying. So what if it takes you your entire life to achieve your goal? Winners have one thing in their mind and that’s nothing else but their goal.
In short, winning is simply NOT TO QUIT!
When is too much too much?
Posted by Mike Lopez in Newsletter on July 20, 2009
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “When is too much too much?” I did, I do and I think I still will. But when is too much too much?
I recently just watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was a nice movie and was fun to watch especially with the “ever popular” hormones going around. I say ever popular because hormones seems to be mentioned each time I read a review of the movie or the book. Oh well, the reason why I’m talking about Harry Potter is the phrase that Professor Dumbledore said.
“Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry.”
When was the last time that your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, your wife, your husband, your kids, your boss or whoever asked too much of you? The feeling of anguish of being asked too much by someone in our life is unbearable. I mean, if it really is too much. However, we often give in revealing somehow that even if it appears to be too much, it really isn’t because if it were we wouldn’t have given in.
Do you get my point?
So when is too much too much? If you really can’t do it anymore then it’s too much or is it? A few months back, I attended an intensive team-building training where the concept of “Do whatever it takes” was planted deeply in my mind. Considering this concept, there is no such thing as too much unless you have already attained your goal.
Think of it this way, if you were a runner and your goal was too reach the finish line but you were already tired, will it be too much if you gave that extra strength just to finish the goal? I don’t think so. No matter how tired I am, no matter if I win or not, my goal is to reach the finish line – no matter what. I’ll do whatever it takes just to reach the goal even if I have to crawl all the way to the finish line. It will only be too much if I kept on running after I’ve reached my goal.
Do whatever it takes and reach for that goal. It’s never too much until you’re there.
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