I love to hear what people name their kids and why. I usually ask probing questions just because I am genuinely interested. I am always fascinated by people’s answers. Over my life I have found it kind of humorous at times that my dad’s name is Thomas Edison Thrift. Of course it doesn’t take a mental giant to know why his mom picked that name. I am not sure if in the early, very early 30’s it was a trend among people to use that name, but nonetheless, she picked some very famous names for her children.
My dad would always say, “There is no substitute for hard work.” I just recently realized that this was a quote from Thomas Edison the inventor. Thomas Edison is famous for the following quotes:
“There are three great essentials to achieve anything worth while: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness and Common sense.”
“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
“Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”
I enjoy reading about Thomas Edison just because I like to ponder what my grandmother saw in him that made her want to pass that name on to my dad. Of course we can all thank Thomas Edison for the light bulb, but I love his tenacity and ability to not “settle”. He was always trying! Another quote of his that I love is, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks a lot like hard work.” That quote really makes me wonder if that is why my grandmother gave my dad his name. Dad came from a family that knew how to work hard and all they wore was overalls.
Much could be said about my dad, but I think anyone who knows him would first think of what a “hard worker” he was and still tries to be. He has always been accustomed to hard labor which I think explains why he just cannot buy into people sitting and working on a computer. He cannot wrap his mind around sitting in front of a computer screen being equated with hard work. That is a world he hasn’t known and simply does not understand. A real example of a “generation gap!”
As I study people, especially people from history, like Thomas Edison, who were able to do great things and accomplish much, their quotes tell me much about how they embraced life and why years later have earned the right to be “quoted!” Ben Carson is a very famous neurosurgeon of today. His life is such a fascinating story that was made into a movie entitled, “Gifted Hands,” starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Dr. Ben Carson. One of Ben’s most notable quotes is, “I started reading about people of great accomplishment………and it dawned on me suddenly that the person who has the most to do with what happens in your life is you.” If you study Ben Carson’s life and success, you quickly realize he lives that quote.
So much to learn from people who have achieved. People who did not buy into the family they were born into, nor the fact that they were considered a nerd, or eccentric as being a reason to not achieve……they actually took their abilities and passions and worked, worked, and then worked some more. Bill Gates is quoted as saying, “Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.” And, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.”
There is no secret to success and leaving a “ding” in the world as was Steve Jobs’ desire……the one common, very common and obvious INGREDIENT in all those who have achieved much IS HARD WORK. Whether these men knew or know Jesus I do not know, but their lives validate God’s word.
PROVERBS 14:23, “ALL HARD WORK BRINGS A PROFIT, MERE TALK LEADS TO POVERTY.”