Law Of Attraction
His imagination was the workshop in which these three
factors, definite purpose, self-confidence and initiative were brought
together and made to supply the momentum for the first step in the
organization of the Piggly-Wiggly plan.
Thus are great ideas changed into realities. When Thomas A. Edison invented the incandescent electric light bulb he merely brought together two old, well-known principles and associated them in a new combination. Mr. Edison and practically all others who were informed on the subject of electricity, knew that a light could be produced by heating a small wire with electricity, but the difficult problem was to do this without burning the wire in two.
In his experimental research Mr. Edison tried out every conceivable sort of wire, hoping to find some substance that would withstand the tremendous heat to which it had to be subjected before a light could be produced. His invention was half completed, but it was of no practical value until he could find the missing link that would supply the other half. After thousands of tests and much combining of old ideas in his imagination, Edison finally found this missing link.
In his study of physics he had learned, as all other students of this subject learn, that there can be no combustion without the presence of oxygen. He of course knew that the difficulty with his electric light apparatus was the lack of a method through which to control the heat. When it occurred to him that there could be no combustion where there was no oxygen he placed the little wire of his electric light apparatus inside of a glass globe, shut out all the oxygen, and lo! the mighty incandescent light was a reality.
When the sun goes down tonight you step to the wall, press a button
and bring it back again, a performance that would have mystified the
people of a few generations ago, and yet there is no mystery back of
your act.
Thanks to the use of Edison's imagination, you have simply brought
together two principles both of which were in existence since the
beginning of time.
No one who knew him intimately ever accredited Andrew Carnegie with unusual ability, or the power of genius, except in one respect, and that was his ability to select men who could and would cooperate in a spirit of harmony, in carrying out his wishes. But what additional ability did he need in the accumulation of his millions of dollars?