“Genius in one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
Thomas Alva Edison

I have a little card near my desk with this saying on it to remind me that whatever I’m trying to do that’s worth doing involves a generous dose of hard work. Of course, I’d like to think that there’s more than one percent worth of inspiration in something truly creative, but hey, Thomas certainly had the corner on inventiveness. Maybe what he really meant is that coming up with a fabulous idea is just the seed of something new. The hard work of actually bringing it in the world is what really counts.

In any case, my friend and mentor Rob Gilbert recently showcased Edison’s “Five Principles of Inventive Success” on his wonderful Success Hotline (973.743.4690). Since they seem very relevant to writing dangerously, I wanted to share them with you:

1) One must have definite knowledge as to what one wants to achieve.

2) One must fix one’s mind on that purpose with persistence and begin
searching for that purpose without ceasing.

3) One must keep on searching no matter how many times one may meet with disappointment.

4) One must refuse to be discouraged even if someone else has failed in
achieving that purpose.

5) One must keep oneself sold on the idea that the solution to the problem
exists somewhere and that one will find it.

Wise words from a wizard of invention to guide us on our way today.