8 Reasons to be More Like Thomas Edison

"There are no rules here -- we're trying to accomplish something."

~Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

1.) Adventurous Spirit – Thomas Edison courageously dedicated himself to experimenting with the unseen. Living without rules, he boldly journeyed into unknown territory. Life is an adventure, and embracing the greatest possible potential for our lives, especially that which is unknown, requires an adventurous spirit.

"Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t."

2.) Fearlessness – Edison was not afraid of failure - he welcomed it. Even better than that, he actually reframed failure as a learning opportunity. We’re here on this planet to learn, grow, play, and create. If we’re not failing it’s because we aren’t trying anything new. Rather than let doubts keep us stuck, moving forward fearlessly allows for our expansion as individuals and also allows us to make greater contributions while we’re here.

"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

3.) Attitude – Edison maintained an excellent attitude toward life. His willingness to see value in “failure”, and to continue to experiment day after day, is a testament to his positive attitude. We can all stand to gain from embracing such impressive modeling. He also said, “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun." Embracing our life’s work with a positive and playful attitude makes the challenges easier, the playtime even brighter, and will likely encourage us to keep moving forward along the journey.

"I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it"

4.) Tapping unseen potential – Edison was able to see the potential for the motion picture camera, phonograph, a battery for the electric car, electrical power, and many other creations that were not yet in existence. In fact, he held 1,093 U.S. patents. I personally see the immense untapped power of human beings, and aspire to create tools that allow for this potential to flourish. What lies unrealized currently that you could tap into, dear reader?

"Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”

5.) Minding the details – Thomas Edison was a copious note taker. His diary had over 5 million pages! Writing things down and planning frees up our minds, and can greatly assist in keeping us on track. It also frees us from wasting energy repeating things unnecessarily, so we can learn and move on. Writing down ideas expands creativity, and can allow for greater awareness of patterns in our thinking and actions.

"We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work."

6.) Doing the work – Edison was clearly willing to roll up his sleeves and dive into the work necessary to move towards his goal. As he also said, "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." Success takes a willingness to work hard. When we follow our heart’s song, this hard work can feel like playtime. But, it also requires us to do things we’d rather not have to do. The important thing is to keep showing up for our selves, day after day.

When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this - you haven't."

7.) Persistence - It is so critical that we can see the end result and that we have a willingness to keep moving forward towards the goal, despite the obstacles which cross our path. With a goal in mind, and focused positive attitude, Edison was able to keep on keeping on until he met with success.

"If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves."

8.) Visionary – Thomas Edison was one of the great visionaries. He was able to imagine that which was not yet manifest and bring it into being. We are all creators, and having a clear vision for ourselves, and maintaining it while proceeding fearlessly towards its creation is the way to accomplish great things.

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

We each have unique gifts to bring forth into the world. May we all be willing to hold the greatest vision we can for our lives, and the willingness to proceed towards it with the fearless persistence and positive perspective that Thomas Edison had in his life.

Love and Blessings,

Antonia

Originally posted at http://soulatwork.com/