Ever since a child I’ve held an admiration for Thomas Alva Edison. I remember taking a trip with my parents to Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum where they have some of his early laboratories on display. Since then, I’ve made it to several Edison points of interest including his birth home in Milan, Ohio, and his factory turned National Historic Site in Orange, NJ. Talk about leaving a legacy. Really fascinating places to visit if you’re in the area. Even today, I have a 3D-printed, indigo-blue bust of the famous inventor on my desk. I use it to remind myself why I need to rise and grind early.
After reading the The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone*, I realized why I was meant to admire the inventor and go out of my way to passively research his past. Edison truly lived the 10X rule if you think about how he set up and ran his business/life. There’s no doubt Edison transformed how we live, work and play through his innovations in the photograph, lightbulb, stock ticker and like 9,999 other inventions and innovations.
In order for him to do that he had to really 10x his business, his lifestyle. He didn’t come from wealth, he lived a very working class sort of life. Even worked a newspaper “route” as a kid. But his 10X logic was apparent even at a young age when he stopped just peddling papers and started his own newspaper. That spirit of hustle and innovation carried on with him as he started to tinker with “electronics”, or at least what he would consider electronics of his day, and would turn that into a legacy of 10X thinking.
Go big or go home…
Edison took his first innovation, the stock ticker, and used the proceeds from it fund the acquisition of a team of engineers. That team would essentially go on to file 1,093 patents. Talk about growth hacking and total domination. All of their accomplishments would make Edison one of the most recognized names in history and one of the wealthiest of his time – and holder of the most patents for over 70 years.
Edison not only had a truly a brilliant mind but also a keen sense of business savvy – even if that was to hire the right people. It’s clear to me that Edison had one mission, to either go big or go home. And big he went.
Additional Recommended Read: Edison on Innovation: 102 Lessons in Creativity for Business and Beyond*
*Affiliate Link Disclosure: I may receive a commission if you purchase from the website I link to in this post.