Thomas Edison’s Greatest Strength

When I say “inventor”, who comes to mind?

For many people, it’s likely Thomas Edison.

Not only did he invent the incandescent light bulb, but also the Phonograph (the world’s first device capable of recording sound), and the Kinetograph (the inaugural motion picture camera). Without these three inventions alone, we wouldn’t have light as we know it, and podcasts, phone calls, videos, and movies might not exist.

Among his countless other inventions, Edison also “created” (more like popularized) the word Hello, which he did as part of his job as a telegraph operator.

Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor.

While there may only be a few dozen inventions of his that we’d call “revolutionary”, Edison was a highly productive inventor.

Throughout his life, he filed patents for an astronomical 2,332 inventions. Which equates to about a new invention every two weeks for the entirety of his life. Truly mind-bending.

How did Thomas Edison rise to success?

Edison had a unique strategy. And no, it wasn’t his lack of food or sleep – though those did contribute. (Edison was known to work all night and ate food only when absolutely necessary.)

Thomas Edison’s secret to success came down to one mentality he possessed that few others had.

When Edison had an idea, he executed on it immediately.

Most inventors of his time would spend weeks, months, and years diagramming, plotting and planning their inventions. They’d draw up complicated schematics, and think over every possible design option. Not Edison. He just got into the lab and kept trying and trying until he succeeded.

As Edison himself said, “I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found out 99 ways not to make one.”

As a Christian, this is a lesson that I think we can all – in a sense – take to heart. Jesus asked us to “go and make disciples of all nations”. Some people get so obsessed about planning how they’re going to do that, that they never get around to actually doing it.

God tells us to trust Him.

It doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible, “Plan for a year, then go and perform Jesus’ will”. In fact, it’s often the opposite. When Jesus called to his soon-to-be disciples from the shore they didn’t fish for a week and then join Him. No, they immediately cast aside their nets and followed Jesus.

Proverbs 20:24 (NIV) says, “A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?”

Just do it.

This famous slogan is most renowned as the Nike catchphrase, but it also applies to Thomas Edison’s mentality and Jesus’ plan for us. Come up with an idea, of course, but let God do the rest. Don’t obsess over anything and everything so that it distracts you from the true call.

Edison didn’t let obsessing over the planning phase slow him down. Sure, he had to brainstorm to some extent, but beyond that, he just did it. And as a result, he created over 2,000 inventions and changed the way we live forever. When Edison set his mind to creating something – even just for fun or as a challenge – he did it.

Don’t worry.

What would happen if, instead of worrying about all the little things, we instead trusted God? I’m not saying don’t think things through ever. No – God tells us to use discernment. What I am saying is to leave the big things to God, instead of worrying about them.

As Jesus said in Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV), “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Will you worry about the details, or will you trust God and just do it?