Monday, June 1, 2009

THE VALUE OF DISASTER

Thomas Edison's laboratory was virtually destroyed by fire in December, 1914. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof.

Much of Edison's life's work went up in spectacular flames that December night. At the height of the fire, Edison's 24-year old son, Charles, frantically searched for his father among the smoke and debris.

He finally found him, calmly watching the scene, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.
"My heart ached for him," said Charles.

"He was 67 - no longer a young man - and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, "Charles, where's your mother?"

When I told him I didn't know, he said, "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives."
The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew."

Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph.

Oh my, it's very beautiful over there.

Thomas Edison

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.

Thomas Edison

2 comments:

Tiger said...

I know this story about Thomas Alva Edison.
It's a great inspiration.
Not many people look at setbacks this way anymore.

Unknown said...

Hi Tiger,

Yes, Edison remains an inspiring model of perseverance and positive thinking..Thank goodness my husband is also like him and has injected a lot of wisdom and positive attitudes into my life, Otherwise, I would be swirling in negative thinking.

Have a good day!