Thomas Edison’s Theorem for Success

In the 1920s, a journalist asked Thomas Edison how it felt to fail 1000 times in his attempt to invent the incandescent lightbulb.

He replied, “I didn’t fail 1000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1000 steps.”

Humphry Davy actually invented the first electric lamp. Cool, nerdy information in case you have an argument with someone about lightbulbs.

Thomas Edison was relentless in his pursuit of inventing the incandescent lightbulb. He worked 10-hour days in his lab and an additional 5-hours a day on problem-solving.

That’s dedication.

Of course, not everyone back then had Edison’s willpower and brainpower to pursue something.

But he was on to something. He realized the potential for something and worked tirelessly to achieve it.

He formed incredibly strong willpower to succeed in his invention. His success was formed with habits, not just passion.

A century later, everything has changed, especially when it comes to forming habits & how we think of progress.

Our culture wants instant success. We demand it.

We see successful social media gurus and entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, and we believe we can be just like them.

It’s true, we can. It just so happens we give up after step 5 instead of step 1000.

We blame technology aka Google and Apple for making us lazy. When anything can be found in the click of a button we now call it “research.”

Instead of blaming technology for corrupting us, we should relearn the process of what makes anyone successful, specifically what made Edison successful.

I call it the Thomas Edison Theorem.

Forming habits

It takes 66 days to form a habit before your new behavior becomes an automatic habit.

And if you are trying to form a new habit, you’re going to have to break some old ones. Studies show that to successfully break a habit requires the strongest motivation.

Studies indicate that these habits are essential to success:

· Read about your market. And read in general.

· Keep a journal of your what you’ve read, from quotes to lists.

· Wake up early (not as easy as it sounds).

· Exercise. Not just mental exercise, physical exercise.

· Prioritizing.

· Don’t wait for the ideal conditions to work.

· Minimize distractions — social media & emails.

This list isn’t the end all be all to forming habits, but it’s a start toward finding success as an entrepreneur or a freelancer.

I’ll be the first to admit, I struggle with each one of these habits. Yet I know I’m more productive when I wake up, go on an early morning jog & then start work, rather than sleeping in and starting work.

I’m now more used to the habit of waking up early. It’s made me more productive to what I’m trying to achieve.

How many of us when we first wake up check our social media, our email, play a quick game of Words with Friends, and then realize 30 minutes have gone by?

Admit it, you know this is you because I know this used to be me.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur or freelancer, it requires habit forming.

If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s because you have a vision. Nobody, however, will see you as a visionary unless you actually do the work, which requires forming habits that will determine your success.

Redefining Progresshttps://medium.com/media/800a8fda766db517063ba686a75c3312/href

C.S. Lewis defined progress as getting nearer to the place you want to be, even if it means taking a wrong turn and turning back.

You may feel like giving up, that you’ve made no progress. Fret not. Also, ignore the fact that I actually said fret not.

What I mean is, don’t worry about your mis-steps. It could be the financial setbacks, the clients you’ve lost, pursuing the wrong career, saying fret not, or something else.

If you realize these mistakes and learn from them, it’s progress toward your ultimate goal.

Edison didn’t think of every mis-calculation as a failure. He perceived it as a learning step toward creating something visionary.

What are you doing to pursue your goal?

Anyone can be satisfied in the 9–5 job, with an annual salary of 50k with benefits. It doesn’t require getting up early, exercising, or even reading.

If you don’t want that, and you have a passion to create something that makes you either an expert in your field or an entrepreneur, then it takes something much more.

Here’s an example:

You may want to open a coffee shop in your city because you like making coffee and people like drinking coffee.

That simple? Not quite.

You will have to understand market trends, pricing, average population age of coffee drinkers in your city, finances, hiring employees, and basically anything else that comes with running a coffee shop.

This all requires becoming an expert in your craft. That requires breaking habits and forming habits, and understanding every mis-step you make is only a step toward progress.

This is the Thomas Edison Theorem.

Thomas Edison’s Theorem for Success was originally published in C.R.Y on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.