Edison lit the world without a diploma

Heart

My son, (the 18-year-old bro who is a fading rainbow from the house), asked me for advice on his college plan next fall.

What to study and such—what do you say?

There’s big money decisions, passion and purpose angles, and of course increasing Ai implications.

So I thought about Thomas Edison.

Cut the chase, you know this man: 1,093 patents, the motion camera, the phonograph, founded the massive General Electric company » the man who gave electric light to the world 💡 

No Harvard for Edison. Didn’t get a scholarship either.

That’s because he didn’t go.

Not only did he not go to college, he also dropped out of elementary school. Home schooled. Self-directed learner.

You know, a Take The Crown kind of human 👑 

Age 13, no formal schooling, he was selling newspapers and candy on trains. Learned how to grind 💪 

We all remember it took him 1000 attempts to get light bulb success. Yet we forget it only worked for less than day.

Two great quotes from him, not me:

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

and

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

Friend, what about you huh? What light bulb you trying to illuminate today?

Have you tried 10 times, 500? Now what?

Maybe you just invented the lightbulb. 1,001, it worked 🥳🪩 

Okay still . . . now what?

For Edison, only 3 years later he invented the first central power plants to deliver the electricity to homes and cities.

He was burning at 27M degrees inner core ☀️

Edison did NOT say try 1,000 times. Or keep trying until you get it. Or be smart, find hacks, graduate top of class with a double engineering major, ace the ACT/SAT tests, get a full ride, avoid school loans, or even be a self-directed learner.

If I’m reading his quotes right, what Edison said was:

Work hard . . . and just try one more time.

Can it be that simple?

Is it possible?

Friend, what if he’s right??

Mind 🌞 

The secret to why a lightbulb lasts so long is the glass bulb.

• Protective design: The glass bubble around incandescent lightbulbs isn’t just aesthetic—it creates a vacuum to protect the filament from burning out (by oxygen)

• Likewise, the dome around modern LED bulbs isn’t just aesthetic—it shields the delicate semiconductor chip and circuitry from dust, moisture, and impact, while also diffusing and directing the light so it shines evenly without glare.

If the filament in a bulb or chip in a LED is exposed to the oxygenated air—for us, distractions, noise, constant demands—it burns out fast.

Put a glass bulb around your glowing filament—because protected focus turns raw heat into brilliance!

Soul ⚡️ 

“Create like a god, live like a king, and work like a slave”

—Quote, Constantin Brâncuși (French‑Romanian sculptor)

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