Friday, June 15, 2018
Reading Reflection
For this assignment, I read The Wright Brothers by David McCullough. This book is a biography of the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville. Together, over a ten-year time period, the Wright brothers invented the first functional flying machine. What surprised me the most about the Wright brothers was the fact that these brothers, who changed the world through invention, didn't even attend college. Although they lacked a higher education, both Wilbur and Orville were incredibly smart and talented in their own ways which combined set them up for great success. What I really admire about these entrepreneurs is their perseverance. Although the brothers faced multiple setbacks and discouragements, they persisted in their mission to create a flying machine for over ten years; and had they not succeeded in that timeframe, I'm confident that they wouldn't have given up until they did. There is really nothing that I least admire about these brothers, but I'd say maybe the fact that they didn't persist longer in selling their invention to the United States. The Wright brothers faced much adversity in their journey from people who did not believe in their ability to succeed which was coupled with various setbacks, however, they kept focussed and never gave up. These brothers' greatest competency was their commitment to their mission, without this commitment, they would have let their setbacks halt their efforts. The only thing I was confused about was the fact that the Wright brothers had a limited amount of time and money and were still able to put forth the work required to innovate at such an extreme level. If I were able to ask these brothers two questions, the first would be 1) What were your fears when beginning your journey to create a flying machine? and the second would be 2) At what point were you closest to giving up on your dream of creating this machine/what setback proved to be the greatest in your journey? I would ask these questions because I so often don't approach a situation because I am afraid of failure, or will opt out of something at a certain point when there aren't signs of future success. I believe that the Wright brothers valued hard work and saw it as the only option to get from where they were to where they aspired to be, ultimately, I view hard work as the only option as well.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There's a trend that I've noticed with these entrepreneurs that we've had to read about which is that they either start with nothing or close to nothing, are passionate about their product/business, and usually do not let the flame die down no matter the obstacle that they may face, and in all cases, their legacy lives on forever. These three things are the most crucial elements in making a successful entrepreneur, and we should embody these ideals.
ReplyDeleteThere are not too many entrepreneurs that you are taught about in elementary school but the Wright Brothers are in that category. Their miraculous accomplishment at that time period was something that had never been thought of and that’s what is crazy to me. Most of our ideas are stemming off of something that is existing but this invention of the first flying machine was something that no one had ever thought of or thought possible before. I think these are two of the greatest entrepreneurs in American history, so I like your pick on the book.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how some of the world's greatest entrepreneurs were simply successful because of their passion. They took the one thing that truly inspired them and worked for it for years to reach their success. I think that sometimes that is something that could easily be forgotten. Many of us are quick to become discouraged when our plan doesn't have the initial success we imagined and we quit. However, its important for us to find what initially sparked that passion and remind ourselves that success doesn't happen from one day to the next.
ReplyDelete