Ashes to Opportunity
Clear the Rubbish
“The world owes nothing to any man, but every man owes something to the world.”
- Thomas Edison
Ashes to Opportunity
Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life
It was December 9, 1914, and Thomas Edison had just returned home after a day’s work in his laboratory. As he settled down, a man came rushing in with devastating news: an explosion had ripped through the West Orange, New Jersey research facility and the building was on fire. His thoughts had to have turned to decades of inventions and records as he returned to the site. Green and yellow flames, fueled by the toxic chemicals in the building, shot into the night sky as firefighters from surrounding towns scrambled to contain the fire. It quickly became clear that saving the factory was not going to happen.
Thousands of onlookers watched the fire spread and buildings burn. When Edison returned, he had an interesting reaction to the devastation. With a peculiar excitement, he turned to his son and said, “Go get your mother and her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again!” Noting his son’s confusion, he reassured him, “Don’t worry,” he said, “We’ve just gotten rid of a lot of rubbish.”
That night, Edison watched years of hard work go up in smoke. His research, patents, and next big ideas vanishing before his very own eyes. The financial loss was stunning. Edison had every right to be discouraged, yet he took a different approach. He chose to focus on what he could do next. He knew the losses were significant, but giving up wasn’t even a consideration.
The next day, with debris still smoldering, a reporter asked Edison what he would do next. His plan was simple. “I’ll start all over again tomorrow.” At 67 years old, he was far from ready to retire. Within a month, his team was back to work and would produce more than ever before.
Edison knew there is opportunity in adversity. He had experienced thousands of setbacks giving him a lot of practice in failure. Edison knew this was part of the process for growth and improvement, not something that would limit or define him.
This is an important takeaway for leaders. When the hits come, it is easy to focus on what is going wrong and our losses. However, like Edison, we can choose to see challenges as opportunities to create something even better. Setbacks, big or small, give us a chance to “clear the rubbish,” reassess and start fresh. Sometimes the rubbish is something we can hold and feel, and sometimes it is between our ears.
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."
– Margaret Thatcher
Connecting this quote to the story. Edison’s resilience never wavered. Despite losing everything in the fire, he was ready to rebuild and face whatever challenges it took.
Chasing Influence tip: Approach each setback with a spirit of curiosity and determination to find silver linings.
If you enjoyed this story, a series of three Chasing Influence workbooks is available. Stories are accompanied by discussion questions and answers. Each workbook contains 33 lessons to use with any team.
Updates on Chasing Influence
This past week, I was honored to join Travis Rogers on his Parenting Athletic Kids podcast!
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©Troy Urdahl, 2024