Thomas Edison and the Wisdom of His Words

Thomas A. Edison quote

Michael Barnes

Building Life Foundations

Thomas Edison and the Wisdom of His Words

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

When I was preparing my presentation, I was stopped dead in my tracks. I took a lot of time just reflecting on this quote because it has so many lessons to impart.

For one, we do limit ourselves when it comes to what we can accomplish. Sometimes from a fear of failure, other times it is because we don’t know what resources there are available to assist us. I have found many times in my life there are resources and people in this world who are begging for a chance to help someone achieve greatness in their life. As for the fear of failure, there are so many times I was holding myself back because of that fear, not realizing at the time most of the time if I did indeed fail, I wouldn’t be any worse off than I was before I tried. So in reality, what would have been lost? Nothing but a little bit of time.

Ok, so it doesn’t work. What can you do? 1) Sit in the corner and cry? That’s not an option. 2) Give up and say I am useless? Again, not a healthy option. Or 3) try it again but see what in the process that needs to be changed to make it work. That’s the winning answer AND ATTITUDE that is needed to succeed in life.

Another reason we limit ourselves is because of the social circles we keep up with. Call it peer pressure, jealousy, or whatever, it is true and prevalent in our lives. We tend to reflect the people in our lives through our demeanor and thought processes, and this is a limiting factor for all endeavors we attempt in our lives.

So how do we rectify this situation? Well, it seems like we need new friends, friends who will assist us, as you would assist your friends in their endeavors. Friends who will be by our side cheering us on and helping us figure out what misstep happened along the way. Friendships and relationships go a long way towards having the support we need to get an endeavor done.

A third lesson to be learned in this quote is sometimes we just give up and not finish what we were working on and slip back into our old habits because we think we are not worthy. Take it from someone who was bullied all through his school life: YOU ARE WORTHY!!! Just because a small part of the world's population either didn’t think you were good enough or smart enough to amount to anything, doesn’t mean they were right! It's time to shake off those thoughts and feelings because they are not going to do you any good when it comes to improving your new life.

Let's look at the last big accomplishment you did. Think back to that feeling, whether it was learning a new skill, getting something time consuming done, or just rather unpleasant in general. What did you feel after everything was done? I guarantee there was a sense of accomplishment, and also a desire to start something new.

So now motivation comes to mind. How motivated were you after the ordeal? What other tasks or projects came to mind? Did you feel that sense of accomplishment? I'll bet you felt like you could conquer the world. I know I did when I completed an especially grueling task.

Michael Barnes is a life coach and speaker on the key to unlocking the 5 aspects of a life worth living. Book a free chat here and see how he can help you start a life worth living.

For speaking engagements click here