Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude

Orville and Wilbur Wright succeeded in flying because they added something more! Many inventors came exceedingly close to inventing the airplane before the Wright brothers. The Wright brothers used the same principles that were employed by the others. But they added ? something more. They created a new combination. So they succeeded where all others failed. The something more was rather simple. They attached movable flaps of a particular design to the edges of the wings so the pilot could

control them and maintain the plane's equilibrium. These flaps were the forerunners of the modern aileron.

You'll notice there's a common denominator to all these success stories. In each case, the secret ingredient was the application of a previously unapplied universal law. That made the difference. So, if you are standing on the threshold of success without being able to pass over, try adding something more. It needn't be much. The words "Hip, were all it took to make a hit tune. Tiny flaps were all it took to make an airplane failed. It isn't necessarily the quantity of something more, but the "inspired quality" that counts.

Why did the Supreme Court decide that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone? Many persons claimed to have invented the telephone before Alexander Graham Bell. Among those who held prior patents were Gray, Edison, Dolbear, McDonough, Vanderweyde, and Reis. Philipp Reis was the only one who apparently came close to success. The little difference that made the big difference was a single screw. Reis didn't know that it he had turned one screw one quarter of a turn, he would have transformed interrupted current into continuous current. Then he would have been successful!

In a United States Supreme Court case, the court noted:

That Reis knew what had to be done in order to transmit speech by electricity is very apparent, for in his first paper he said: "As soon as it is possible to produce, anywhere and in any manner, vibrations whose curves shall be the same as those of any given tone or combination of tones, we shall receive the same impression as that tone or combination of tones would have produced on us."

The Court further noted:

Reis discovered how to reproduce musical tones, but he did no more. He could sing through his apparatus, but he could not talk. From the beginning to the end he has conceded this.

As in the case of the Wright brothers, the something more Bell added was comparatively simple. He switched from an intermittent to a continuous current, the only type capable of reproducing human speech. The two currents are exactly the same direct current. "Intermittent" means breaking with a slight pause. Specifically, Bell kept the circuit open instead of breaking the circuit intermittently as Reis had done. The Court concluded:

Reis never thought of it, and he failed to transmit speech telegraphically. Bell did, and he succeeded. Under such circumstances it is impossible to hold that what Reis did was an anticipation of the discovery of Bell. To follow Reis is to fail, but to follow Bell is to succeed. The difference between the two is just the difference between failure and success. If Reis had kept on he might have found out the way to succeed, but he stopped and failed. Bell took up his work and carried it on to a successful result.

His silent senior partner inspired him to success. R. G.

LeTourneau, builder of heavy earth-moving equipment, motivated thousands of persons with his inspirational speeches. In these talks, he referred reverently to "my Senior Partner." He told about the inspiration and help he received from the "Partner." LeTourneau had little formal education. But he performed feats of engineering that are astounding.

As a sub-contractor on the great Hoover Dam in Nevada, LeTourneau lost a fortune because he ran into an unexpected strata of rock. The cost of drilling through the rock was more than

he had calculated in estimating his contract. So he went broke trying to fulfill his end of the bargain.

But instead of brooding over his loss, LeTourneau turned to prayer. How did he pray? By expressing gratitude ? profound gratitude ? for what he had left: A sound body. A strong pair of hands. A brain that could think. And something more. "In my hour of greatest distress," said LeTourneau, "I found my greatest asset in the revelation and discovery of a silent Senior Partner. I have since recognized this Partner in my personal and business life. Everything I have ? everything I have done that has been worthwhile ? I owe to Him."