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BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD Demand, The Mother Of Invention.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
Byline: Cord Cooper
5 Thomas Edison had a simple philosophy: If you can't sell it, don't invent it. He learned that lesson early on through dogged trial and error.
In his early 20s, Edison worked as a telegraph operator for Western Union in Boston. During his off hours, he attended an evening session of the Massachusetts Legislature. The drawn-out process of tabulating votes struck him as inefficient, recalls Evan Schwartz in "Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors."
Edison hurried home and began work on what would be his first patented device: an electronic vote counter. It instantly recorded yes and no votes using processes similar to those of a chemically recording telegraph.
Crying Foul
When Edison pitched the device to legislators, one of them shouted, "This is exactly what we do not want!"
Why? The long, vote-tabulating delays were useful: They allowed for filibustering, arguing and convincing other members to switch their votes.
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