GREATNESS IS NOT ORIGINAL

"I start where the last man left off."
- Thomas Edison
(1847-1931) Inventor/Businessman

Some of the greatest inventions and most profitable ones are not new, first of their kind things, but rather they are improvements on things that already are around.  Many are commonly used in our lives every day and someone thought of a way to make them better.  Example is the cell phone.  Thirty years ago, cell phones were very limited.  They could make and receive call and that was about it.  Today, your cell phone can do everything but tie your shoes (since someone also improved Velcro that isn't needed anyway).  Did you know that your cell phone has more computer capability in it than they had for the first moon landing?  Yes, in your phone!  That phone will also be behind the curve in only a few months.  That is how fast the technology is changing.
                Many, otherwise successful ideas have been put on the shelf for no reason other than they have been done before.  Some people think that if they do not have an original idea or thought then it is no good.  That is nonsense.  For one, there really is not an original idea.  Most everything has been thought of at some time.  They may not have been acted on or put into use, but they have been thought of to some degree.  A success-minded person is always listening and looking for new and exciting ideas all around them.  Mark Twain was once asked by a reporter how he came up with his original story ideas, to which Mr. Twain replied, "I have never had an original idea in my life."  That is true for us all.  Most of what you know you have learned from someone else.
                What you can do that has not been done is to give that idea life and to make it happen.  All around you are wonderful tools that make life better for us all.  Ask yourself, how can I make it even better?  What is not happening that can happen?  Remember, impossible is only a state of mind.  Never, never, never think that something cannot be done.  You just have not yet discovered how it can be done - but it can be done.
                Success-minded people are possibility thinkers.  To them, everything is possible.  What scares the unsuccessful is that to find out how it can be done will take work, lots and lots of hard work.  Henry Ford said, "Most people miss opportunities because it dresses in work clothes and looks like work."  No one said that discovering something new will be easy.  Discovery has always been hard and labor intensive, but the rewards have also been grand and glorious.
To discover how you can achieve the dream you have believed was impossible for too long, read On The Journey To Achievement by John Patrick Hickey.  You can get a signed copy for yourself and get one for a friend, by going to http://www.johnpatrickhickey.com/it-is-good-to-set-goals-better-to-achieve-then/.  Now available on Kindle, Oops! Did I Really Post That? Online Etiquette in the Digital Age by John Patrick Hickey.


To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2015 John Patrick Hickey

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