Persistence

It is said that genius is something like 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration – though I’ve seen a 98-2% breakdown quoted recently. I understand that it was Thomas Alva Edison who said it. But it may be a good idea to remember a few things, rather than take this at face value.
Mr Edison had an unusual genius. He is credited with an enormous number of inventions but in fact he invented little himself. He employed large numbers of people who worked on his ideas, or sometimes their own with his permission. When they worked it out, he took the credit. After all, it was his institution and they were his employees. He had the inspirations and they did the perspiration – he contracted out the hard work. What Edison really invented was the Research Laboratory. Very clever.
The perspiration is worthless unless you’ve had the inspiration first. The world is full of people working very, very hard at the wrong things. Weapons for instance. The inspirational component is smaller in size or duration but it is much more important than what comes afterwards.
Unfortunately very few of us ever have an original idea. Original thinking is dangerous, disturbing, challenging and threatening. People who do it are a bit scary. Some of them are mad. I frequent an unusual café which attracts eccentric individuals (I might well be one of them) and talk occasionally to a man who is absolutely convinced that he can build a perpetual motion machine. I ‘know’ deep in my heart and reason that this is impossible but I try very hard to ask encouraging questions. This I do because there may be an infinitesimally small chance that he’s cracked it. If so, I’ll be famous just for having known him. But I don’t think I’ll invest money in his project.
He’s not exactly mad but I’m fairly sure that he is self-deluded. But then he sits next to a guy who is writing a book based on the idea that all his knowledge is divinely inspired – he refuses to listen to any worldly ideas from us in case they corrupt his magic thinking. I really hope that he isn’t right. But both of these people display remarkable persistence, convinced that they have the answer.

The ‘power of persistence’ is what I think of as one of the ‘egalitarian myths.’ Now that we are all convinced that we are equal in every way, surely we are all equally gifted, intelligent and valuable? Thus, we can all be geniuses in some way can’t we? All we need is an idea! And so of course the only thing that separates us from greatness must be our level of effort – the great among us owe it to no more than the fact that they tried harder. Right?
But are we sure that we are all as good or valuable as Einstein, Nelson Mandela or ……..(insert the genius or hero of your choice)? I’m not. I’ve met many people who I can accept were better than I in almost everyway – and quite a few I’m certain were worse. We are not equal in our gifts – sorry. And working hard won’t fix the problem; it can make it worse. Many of us persist in meaningless work throughout our lives and, “The majority of men live lives of quiet desperation.” (Thoreau).
Better to question what we are doing and ask ourselves whether the task is work the persistent effort. Oh so many are not – but fortunately we can find some that are. Make your own list. And start on one. Now.