<p>Quote: Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration</p>
<p>It is hard work, not just innate ability that leads to results. Thomas Edison once said Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Geniuses are not called so only because of their inherent intellectual and creative abilities but also because of their sedulity. The notion that genius is a product of hard work is exemplified by prominent instances in history, architecture and sports.
A genius who illustrates this quote is the man who made this statement, Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison is renowned for his life-changing inventions including the telegraph and the incandescent light bulb. The idea of lighting was not new but nothing had been developed that was practical for home use. What Edison achieved was not only an incandescent light bulb but a practical, economical and safe incandescent light bulb. He was known as the Wizard of Menlo Park where he lived, in New Jersey, because of his scientific skills. This genius, however, was not so because of natural intellect but because of hard work. At the age of 12, he sold candy and newspapers as well as vegetables on trains in order to supplement his income. Then at the age of 14, he travelled the whole country as a tramp telegrapher. He earned money by helping people send messages to others through the Morse code. In his seven years as a tramp telegrapher, he crossed the United States over a dozen times. Later, in 1876, Edison set up his famous laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was over there that he often stayed up all night working on his inventions. Once, while inventing the light bulb, he worked for three days straight, taking only short naps in between. Hence his persistence, not his inventiveness, was the main factor of his genius.
This theme of hard work leading to mastery can also be seen in the creation of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was created by Shah Jahan. It took from 1632 to 1648 to create this masterpiece. UNESCO has cited this mausoleum as the Jewel of Muslim art in India and it also appears in many listings of the Seven Wonders of the World. Shah Jahan got the inspiration of building Taj Mahal from his love for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. On her death bed she requested him to build a mausoleum in her honor. However, this did not cause the Taj Mahal to sprout out of the ground and become one of the most well known architectural sites in the world today. A labor force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India for the construction of this masterpiece. Over 1,000 elephants were used in order to transport building materials from all over Asia. The whole masterpiece took about 22 years of hard work to complete. Therefore, it was mostly hard work and not inspiration that led to the construction of the Taj Mahal.
Michael Phelps, the American Olympic World Record holding swimmer also exemplifies Thomas Edisons quote. Michael Phelps has won 48 career medals, forty gold, six silver and two bronze. Of these, he has won 16 Olympic medals including 14 gold and 2 bronze and holds seven world records in swimming. He also holds the record for the most gold medals at a single Olympics, eight at Beijing in 2008. He has received the World Swimmer Award in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the American Swimmer of the Year in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. He started swimming at the age of seven, inspired by his sisters Whitney and Hillary, who were also swimmers. He spent many afternoons watching both of his sisters practice and learned a lot from them, particularly the value of hard work. It is not inspiration that made him the athletic genius he is today but his hard work and training instead. Michael Phelps trains for six hours a day, six days a week without fail, even on festivals. He swims approximately 80 km each week, which is over 13 km each day. In addition to this, he also does strength training exercises three times a week and relies on a stationary bike for cardiovascular exercise. As his coach says, Total dedication to his training program has made him the world champion he is today. Hence, it is through hard work and not just inspiration that Michael Phelps mastered the sport of swimming.
As was portrayed by these examples from history, architecture and sports, it is hard work that leads to genius. Most geniuses start off because of inspiration but become great because of the effort and dedication they put into what they do. Unfortunately, it is hard to find hard, dedicated workers in this world and so, hard to find geniuses as well.</p>
<p>ADVI</p>