An Invitation to Dance

In 1914, Thomas Edison’s lab complex burned down in spectacular fashion. Thousands of patent ideas, gadgets, and inventions, destroyed in a few hours. Contrary to what one might expect, Edison did not fall to his knees and cry.

“Go get your mother and all her friends,” Edison told his son. “They’ll never see a fire like this again.” He even claimed that “it’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.” It wasn’t part of his plan, but at 67 years old, Edison decided to “start all over again tomorrow,” as he told The New York Times the next day.

Within 3 weeks, buildings were partially restored, and his employees were at work in temporary facilities. The following year, his company posted $10 million in revenue, about 10x what he had lost in the fire.

Even if you aren’t as good at coping in real-time as Thomas Edison, whether it’s with some temporal distance or a lot, you, too, can turn a calamity into a can-can. With the right perspective, a big loss is not a bereavement but merely a prompt to begin anew, with a clean slate, and reinvent yourself.

Perhaps there’s no such thing as a disaster. Only an invitation to dance — and even if the ticket arrives in fire and flames, what is life but the chance to say yes and start twirling?

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2-Minute Pep Talks is a collection of 67 jolts of inspiration for more hope, comfort, and love in any situation. With more than two months of daily inspiration across five categories, 2-Minute Pep Talks will make you feel more comfortable in your own skin, remind you to love yourself enough to ask life for what you truly want, and provide you with the world’s scarcest resource: hope. Whether you’re looking for a pick-me-up, new perspectives, or more fuel to accomplish your dreams — if you’re ready to regain that light, passionate, optimistic feeling we all used to possess as children, this book is for you.

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This post was previously published on Niklas Göke’s blog

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