Don't Give Up Until You Succeed.

私は現在、トーストマスターズという組織に所属しており、そこで英語スピーチをしました。その原稿を以下に書き留めます。

The man who has been called “the king of inventors” is Thomas Alba Edison.
He was involved in so many inventions. The electric light, phonograph, motion picture, film, telephone, telegraph, typewriter, telegraph, battery, electric railroad, cement, X-ray machine, and microphone as well as power transmission systems such as sockets, switches, fuses, and meters.

His inventions transformed human society. Without him, we would not be where we are today.

Washington, Lincoln, and Edison are known as "America's three most respected men.”

Edison was called "the Napoleon of the invention world.” He was a "giant" who stood out above the rest.

However, his educational background was zero. He only went to elementary school for three months. Herein lies the significance. He was a "champion" who proved this point.

Moreover, Edison was almost deaf.

Yet, he said, "I am lucky because I am deaf. I can think without being distracted by noise, and I can always sleep in a quiet environment."

It is a masterful observation. He was strong. He always played hardball. He was never wimpy.

Edison patented 1,993 inventions in his lifetime. Some people say more. As an individual, he was the greatest inventor of all time.

Now, what was the secret of Edison's success?

He said, "Never give up until you succeed.”

He added, “You want to succeed, there is only one thing to do. Never give up. That’s all. If you give up, you lose.”

He also says, "The weakness of other inventors is that they stop after just one or two experiments. I never give up until I get what I want!”

It is too shortsighted to "give up right away" if anything.

If we are concerned about our appearance, or if we just want to be "famous" or "make money," we will soon give up.

He also said, “I have seen many of my fellow researchers, and when they hit the wall, they usually give up very easily. After ninety-nine failures, it is normal to finally have one success," he said.

His most famous saying is that genius consists of one percent inspiration from heaven and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

There is no such thing as "off the shelf" either. It is only through hard work, and the extension of hard work, that your goals are fulfilled. Without ninety-nine percent effort, there can be no victory.

When he was asked about the "secret of success," he replied.

I work eighteen hours a day. I have been living like that for 45 years now. That means I have worked for 90 years. If I add the 20 years I worked until I reached adulthood, it is the same as living 110 years. I still work 18 hours a day, and I plan to continue this lifestyle for another 20 years. That means I will have lived for 150 years.

So, "If I work this hard, I think it is only natural that I should be twice as successful as others."

When he turned seventy-five, he reduced his daily working hours a little for the first time. He reduced his daily working hours from 18 hours to 16 hours.

If you have 'passion' and 'contemplation’ you will never grow old.

No matter how old Edison got, he always moved forward with passion. He was always "thinking, thinking, thinking through. He strove for a better life, better results, and a better life and society.
　
If you ask Edison now how we can succeed, he would say, “Never Give Up.”