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Lesson #3: “The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.”
Article Overview: In 1915, Sarnoff came up with an idea that he believed would revolutionize the world as he knew it. The idea came after some 15 years in the business, with modest success. Still, the idea was no match for his risk-averse superiors.
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Free Download - David Sarnoff Quotes By David Sarnoff |
Lesson #3: “The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success.”
In 1915, Sarnoff came up with an idea that he believed would revolutionize the world as he knew it. The idea came after some 15 years in the business, with modest success. Still, the idea was no match for his risk-averse superiors.
That year, Sarnoff sat down and penned a memo about a "radio music box." At a time when radio use was predominantly restricted to shipping, Sarnoff thought that a personal radio could become "a household utility," much like the phonograph. "The idea is to bring music into the house by wireless," he wrote. Sarnoff envisioned a future where music, news, sports and lectures could all be broadcast over the airwaves.
Pleased with his idea, Sarnoff sent the memo to his superiors. But it did not take long for them to laugh his memo out of their offices, having decided it was commercial suicide. After all, the Marconi Company sold radios for naval communication. The idea that they should also be used for entertainment seemed too out of this world. Disappointed though he was, Sarnoff decided he was not going to give up that easily.
When RCA was formed in 1919, Sarnoff saw another opportunity. After all, if RCA was going to sell radios, it had to have programming, or so Sarnoff reasoned. To that end, Sarnoff arranged to have a defining fight between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier broadcast on radio. The broadcast drew in great ratings, and finally, Sarnoff's superiors began to take notice.
Within just three years of that fight, the radio music box (then called the Radiola) was on the market for $75 each, and had already earned sales upwards of $85 million. Sarnoff was now seen as the man with his hand on the pulse of America, and his career took off.
"The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success," Sarnoff once said. "The thrill, believe me, is as much in the battle as in the victory."
The "radio music box" would not be Sarnoff's last battle. Indeed, his idea to create national broadcasts by stringing together hundreds of stations was looked upon with equally critical eyes by some, but Sarnoff paid no matter.
"We cannot banish dangers, but we can banish fears," he said. "What the human mind can conceive and believe it can accomplish. Whatever course you have chosen for yourself, it will not be a chore but an adventure if you bring to it a sense of the glory of striving."
When America experienced its first ever live television broadcast in 1939, Sarnoff was one of the first to speak. "It is with a feeling of humbleness that I come to the moment of announcing the birth in this country of a new art so important in its implications that it is bound to affect all society," he said. Indeed, it was a new art so important that Sarnoff knew he could accept nothing less than its realization.
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Related Forum Posts
Re: Success
- I think it was Gary Player who said the harder I practice the luckier I become when it came to his success as a world class golfer. Planning and dedication to a task can make all the difference between success and failure.
MichelleJ
Re: A great website is closing down
- Hmm..
Sad to see such hard work result in failure. Although we've all experienced and anticipate the potential for failure it's always unfortunate when a venture doesn't work out.
Hope they can catch the next one.
Phil
Re: What are you doing if o have a bad day?
- Hang in there, Anelly! Those kind of days are just going to happen and we have to take the bad with the good. Try to think of it as being one step closer to a success, since each failure takes us a step closer to a success. Also think of it as a necessity to the process of learning. I'm sure you've learned something from the experience; perhaps what NOT to do next time. Still, at least you are making the effort to TRY something and that is a step forward in your life. Many people give up before they even begin; don't try anything out of the box. I know it's hard to believe it can ever get better when you're having such a blue day, but believe in yourself and trust that you WILL pick yourself up and dust yourself off and emerge greater than you already were. If not today (as we all need a day to sulk now and then) then tomorrow.
Re: Quote of the Day - "Long shots do come in
- Earl Nightingale also said, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
So we need to prepare and persevere in all we do
Learning From Success or Failure
- In my opinion I learn from both. Success stories inspire me and help keep me focused on the end result. I learn from failures as well so I can try to avoid the same mistakes.
The way I see it, its kind of like the smart kid in school who aced all his exams. He never had to experience failing so it would be nothing else for him to write about except how he succeeded and aced every test.
Now sure a guy/gal who overcame failures and still succeeded is a great story to, but most people are afraid to fail. Alot only want to read about success.
So yeah, its a great idea to write about failure, but at the end of the day they want success. So we give them what they want.
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