Quote: Failure is just another learning opportunity
Apr 26th, 2007 by jeremy
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. - Thomas Alva Edison
I have heard this quote used in a variety of speeches, talks, and motivational writings. It really never gets old to me. Though I am sure many of you already know this, but the context is around Edison inventing the light bulb. He failed over 10,000 times at various attempts before he finally was able to create a stable filament that could carry a current and product light. His doggedness led to what is a significant part of our lives.
The next time you feel like all you are doing is failing, step back and see what you can learn from the situation. Perhaps you can pick something up that will help you succeed the next time. One of my favorite quotes that goes right along with this but in a more humorous tone is
I’ve been to the school of hard knocks, which is fine. It’s all these refresher courses I keep taking that bother me!
- Source Unknown
Jeremy, I’ve chewed on this quote of Thomas A. Edsion so many times, never dared to use it though. This one so famous and yet so beautiful and true. He has so many great quotations to his name, what a wise man he was.
Am I a failure for not daring to use it? Guess not, I just learned today to do just that what you think is right, without thinking what anyone else may think or do, thank you for pointing that out to me!
This is another one of my favourites on this subject:
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”
- Winfrey, Oprah
Anita