The Value of Persistence

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

~ Thomas Edison

Studying the life of Thomas Edison can help one realize the values of learning and creativity must be accompanied by the value of persistence! Edison was brilliant and extremely creative, and although he is well-known for inventing the telephone (with his close friend, Alexander Graham Bell), he got next to nothing in return. In fact, by the time Edison was well into his twenties, he was penniless - deeply in debt, starving, and living on the streets of New York City.

It was in New York's financial district, though, that his story began to take a turn for the better. He finally landed a job as a fix-it man for a financial corporation there.

"Edison recalled that the incident was more euphoric than anything he ever experienced in his life because it made him feel as though he had been "suddenly delivered out of abject poverty and into prosperity." http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html

Thomas Edison's accomplishments are legendary, but if he had not been persistent in pursuing his dreams, even after countless failures, his name would be meaningless to us.

My take from this brief study... keep on keeping on! The next few months until graduation will be extremely busy, challenging, and exhausting. But if I keep setting my goals, persisting (even if I encounter failures), and keep looking forward, I will get through it all.

I may not be a genius like Edison, but I can still learn great lessons from a great man.