Be Brave Not Safe

Can someone with little (formal) education become one of the most prolific inventors – OF ALL TIME?!?

Why, yes they can.

“Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, began where he stood to put his dream into action, and despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by that dream until he made it a physical reality. Practical dreamers do not quit.” ~ Napoleon Hill

If you’d like to learn more about Thomas Edison’s humble beginnings visit the site dedicated to his biography.

In a nutshell (highlights from the above referenced website):

• He did not learn to talk until he was almost 4 years of age.
  
• At 7 his teacher lost his patience with the child’s persistent questioning and seemingly self centered behavior. Noting that Tom’s forehead was unusually broad and his head was considerably larger than average, he made no secret of his belief that the hyperactive youngster’s brains were “addled” or scrambled. In today’s world Tom would have probably been deemed a victim of ADHD and proscribed a hefty dose of Ritalin.
• At 11, Tom’s parents tried to appease his ever more voracious appetite for knowledge by teaching him how to use the resources of the local library. This skill became the foundation of many factors that gradually caused him to prefer learning via independent self instruction.  
• His mother home schooled him, and he taught himself mostly everything he knew about science and technology.
• Ultimately, he became totally deaf in his left ear, and approximately 80% deaf in his right ear. 
• Fast forward: He earned 1,093 United States patents, a record number for one person that still stands. 

Got dreams? Go for it! Got challenges? Go for it anyway.