Published on: July 29, 2021
How many times in a company we see revolutionary ideas getting shelled down by the majority favouring the usual regular line of thought. However, nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come. In case of Konosuke Matsushita the founder of company Matsushita Electrical Appliances used to work in an electric company as an apprentice. He designed a bulb holder the type we use even now. The supervisor when saw this rejected it and actually manhandled him and asked him to just concentrate on the work given to him and threatened to sack him.
Konosuke left the company and after many troubles opened a factory manufacturing this holder. He was the first one to do so and the product got hit. Rest is history.
Similarly, Galileo Galilei was an Italian astronomer, mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and professor. Galileo built his telescope in 1604, he then began supporting the theory that the earth and planets revolve around the sun.
At this time the church believed that all the heavenly bodies moved around the earth. At first his theory was deemed heretical. Later, his friend was elected as the pope, and he encouraged him to go on studying. His friend allowed him to study further only if he disregarded the theory, but Galileo still went on and published writings that supported the theory.
Church reaction was swift, Galileo was summoned to Rome. Galileo was threatened with torture, and he finally admitted he had supported Copernican theory, but privately held that his statements were correct. He had to spend his remaining years under house arrest.
Though ordered not to have any visitors nor have any of his works printed outside of Italy, he ignored both. He wrote several books and publications. In spite of strong opposition from the society at that time, Galileo never let go of his beliefs and ideas. He was convinced he was right and followed through with that deep conviction. He had the standalone spirit that was needed at that time.
If it wasn’t for Galileo’s ideas, we wouldn’t have made so much progress in science and astronomy. In our work environment and everyday lives, we must have rationality and the ability to decide what is right. Moreover, we should pitch our ideas with a high level of belief and conviction, our belief in them will convince others and touch them. This doesn’t mean everything we come up with is always right, but if we approach things from this perspective, we’ll get somewhere.
A 15th century explorer, Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia.
Columbus believed the earth was round and gave distance estimates accordingly. Everybody else disagreed but still supported his voyage. He never reached Asia but stumbled upon the Americas and opened up the Americas to European colonization. Columbus expeditions set in motion the widespread transfer of people, plants, animals, diseases, and cultures that greatly affected nearly every society on the planet. Foods from the Americas, such as potatoes, tomatoes, and corn, became staples for Europeans and helped increase their populations.
Had Columbus pondered on his failure and not taken any more voyages, European-American relations would have been stagnant, and America wouldn’t have been discovered in all its glory. Hence even failure is important, armed with the correct spirit even failure bears fruit.
