We heard the name Michael Faraday in high school. we might know he was a famous scientist that we had to learn his stuff. For us he is just a scientist. like other scientists. But When I heard about his life and how he climbed the ladder of success, it was in awe. What he did was impossible. No one would even imagine someone like him could become one of the greatest scientist ever.
Today I am going to share with you the story of Michael Faraday. But before that let me ask you a question. If you were stranded on an island alone with no one around and you could only have one book with you what would it be ? They asked people this question. some said Bible which is inspiring and supporting during difficult times, some said Moby Dick or war and peace by Leo Tolstoy. But when they asked G.K Chesterton the famous English writer and philosopher, he responded : Thomas' guide to practical ship building which is an extraordinary book from 19th century. there is a chapter in it that you can build any boats and ships from simple tools and materials. how you can launch it in different season and how to navigate by the stars.
Definitely, Thomas' guid to practical ship building is less entertaining than Tolstoy book, but after you read War and peace 2 or3 times you might want to burn the book because you have gotten sick of it. On the other hand, with practical ship building you have the confidence that you can build something and save yourself. The more you build the ship or boat, the more confident you get and you gain the skill and knowledge that can transform your life.
The story of Michael Faraday Is a practical guide on how we can save our lives and become successful. In fact, All of us, are stranded on an imaginary island. In the past, people would work for a company for 40 years. In that time people felt protected and competent in providing for their families. They certainly could have some help from The government. if you had a degree from Law schools or MBA you could have a fantastic live.
But, now, because of the Tsunami of the information and technology that 21st century has brought upon our feet, we no longer have that security, none of is gonna work for the same company for years. There is no longer a sense of loyalty or security, The only person we can rely on is ourselves. The word we are living now is completely different. we have a globalized environment that hundreds of thousands of people are competing for limited opportunities.
All of us have resources to navigate through this environment. to get to power and success.
we are not aware of these resources. But with these resources we can become masters in our fields and craft. The story of Michael Faraday is a great example on How To Become Successful In life From nothing.
Michael Faraday
He was born in 1790's in England, His father was a black smith with a family of twelve.
A black smith was very low on the social classes in England. they didn't make lots of money. Michael's father was continuously ill and could not support the family, In another word, Michael Faraday came from Extreme abstract poverty. Then he went on to be one of the greatest experimental scientist ever existed. it was hiss discovery that lead to invention of the electric motor.
you might say this is a story of a man who overcame lots of adversity.but that doesn't begin to explain the story of Michael Faraday. to be scientist in In England at that time you had to access the laboratories and scientific journals. The only people who could do that were the people who went to universities. You could count the number of the universities by one hand. to get to a university, you had to go to schools where only people from upper classes could go. Nobody like Michael Faraday could enter that process, He was facing a concrete wall. no one like could have a career in science. So how did it happen?
He came from a religious family. Part of their religious belief was that the spirit of God manifested itself in evreything around you. in lights carpets and trees etc. Michael Faraday when he was 6, was obsessed with this idea and he looked at everything around him and wondered how God's spirits manifest itself Asking question from evreyone. One day this curious young man wandered into a book store / book binding shop. It was the first time he saw a book other than bible. He did not go to any schools and he was not educated. He was amazed by all these books he found there.
The owner of the book store was very charmed by this intense enthusiastic young man, se they became friends and young Michael kept returning to the bookshop. So finally the book seller offered him a job as an errand boy. He had so much work ethic that the owner offered him to be an apprentice book binder. This was an amazing opportunity for him because after 7 years of apprenticeship he would become a book binder and the amount of money he could make as a book binder was amazing compared to what he came from. For the first two years the owner was absolutely happy with young Michael's hard work and energy so the owner offered him another great opportunity, He said you are not going to find these books any other places. you can read any book you want. take it home and bring it back. Michael Started reading the books in the book store. soon he realized he really loved science, particularly chemistry and electricity.
There was something about chemistry and electricity that made him fascinated. There was something unknown about them that you could not as. just like the effect of God's spirit in nature. it felt spiritual to him. So he devoured every book he could find on the subject. when he was 15, or 16 he found this book that changed his life, the book called improvement of the mind, a remarkable self helf book that explains if you did not have all the luck in life and you did not go to the university, this is how you could educate yourself. This book practically taught and instructed him how to read, how to research how to draw. he learnt to go to lectures. the booked made him active and involved in what he was learning. Michael Faraday took this book every where. it was like a second Bible to him. he devoured it. He applied every single ideas.
Not only did he take nots, he would go home and expand the notes into a chapter into charts and diagrams. After months and months of doing this. he compiled a huge encyclopedia.
One day a man walked into the workshop who belonged to the Royal institute in England. And owner showed him the encyclopedia that this 17 year old young boy had compiled together. He was astounded and offered Faraday something that he never offered someone like him before.
Humphry davy, who was the preeminent chemist at that time, was giving a series of lectures at the Royal institute. These lectures were not open to the public. He personally invited Young Michael Faraday to attend these lectures. Michael went to these lectures. He took the most thorough notes he ever could take. But he was a somehow discouraged. He realized that
Humphry davy was a genius and by just reading books and going to lectures, he could not achieve the sacred world of science. He could never be Humphry Davy. He needed a mentor.
Michael Faraday decided to go on a campaign. he wrote letters to all the great scientist including humphry Davy himself offering his services at the lowest levels. A few months later he got a letter from Humphry davy. He was blinded temporarily from one of his experiments. He offered Michael Faraday only one week as his personal assistant. He not only did everything Humphry davy asked him to do, He made sure he did not push himself to much and clearly that he wants that position. He cleaned evreything he could. He went extra-mile in everything.
Unfortunately, the position was temporarily and after a week, Michael Faraday went back to the book store. He wrote Humphry davy again, Gently thanked him for that opportunity and as a gift, He sent him the huge encyclopedia he compiled which included Humphry davy's lectures with beautiful drawings. Two mounths later, he was asked by a letter to come to the Royal institute. He suddenly was offered the job of his lifetime. He became Davy's apprentice. Humphry davy's assistant had gotten into an argument with him and he was fired for insubordination. This meant sacrifices. cleaning tubes and fireplaces.
After 8 years of apprenticeship and learning all of the secrets, he made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of the science. His Services and inventions got him into the Royal institute and his career was made.
What you might say:
Lots of people after reading this might say: There were lots of luck. He wanders into the book store, He gets the job he can read books. the owner offers him all the books for free. The improvement of the mind falls into his hands. the the man from royal institute invites him for lectures. Then Humphry Davy blinds himself and later his assistant gets into a fight with him and the opportunity is there.
This is completely absurd. it really ignores the essence of the story. It was the spirit within him that impressed other people. that intensity and work ethic that made him read all those books. It was that sense of destiny that wandered him into that book store. It was his energy and persistence that opened all kinds of opportunities.
A LIFE'S TASK
When we go through life we have a path like this: we are born. We enter an education system and somewhere around high school in our mind we come to this realization that we need to make a living for ourself, This is a harsh realization. Some people because of this realization choose a direct path. Some people go to law or MBA to make lots of money quickly.
Many of us choose indirect path. We enter the universities and study the field that we think is good for us then we are thrown into the real word to fend for ourselves. we have to choose a particular path for work. We pick a job and then after a couple of years, for any reason, we change jobs; maybe a little related maybe not related at all. then over 20 years, we found ourselves in a place that is completely different from where we started. we had this Zigzagy for career path.
In both situation, people in their 40's, come to the realization that they have no idea how they got to the place that they are now. they might not be unhappy or unsuccessful, but the they wonder how did they get there after 40 years of living. A lot of choices that they made was because of external reasons. Where is the money? What other people want them to do ? Who do they know? what are other people doing?
A life's task: we tend to look at our career in terms of a couple of years or even months. There is no sense of goal or purpose. Sometimes we don't even know how to fill our days. This lack of purpose is even worse in the modern word which is changing rapidly. There is a different approach to life. Each human beings was born completely unique. your DNA never existed before and will never exist again. your brain is as unique as your DNA. Your uniqueness is your purpose. How does it manifest itself? There are certain activities you were drawn to when you were a child. A certain thinking or behaviour . for example Albert Einstein, his father gave him a compass and the idea of the needle moving toward a force which no one can see, fascinated him. Tiger Wood when he was a little child, 16 month old and he is watching his father playing golf in the garage and Tiger gets excited and can't wait so he could get on his feet. Steve Jobs when he was 6 years old and he sees all those electric items in their garage and he was fascinated by them.
As we get older, these differences and inclinations, become clearer. It is a voice in our head. " This is what you should be doing, This is what you meant to do". When you do it, there is some sort of ease and calmness into it. It doesn't mean you are going to do it easily. The process of learning of practicing is still difficult. for example: if you are drawn to playing piano, when you finish a session you feel great, The process was still hard. but the feeling of satisfaction runs through your body, but if you are drawn to playing piano and you are a mailman, when you finish your day, you gonna be miserable, you feel suffocated that you have to go there again.
This is your life's task. Some of you should be playing piano or playing soccer, dancer or a scientist. When we get older that voice get fainter and fainter that when we go through education system all of us become alike. We might be interested in literature or teaching and they force you to learn algebra or play a sport.
Then, we are affected by our parents, they say something, you don't want to be a teacher or dancer or soccer player or a showman. you need to be a doctor. Then peers pressure us to do things. more and more we don't hear that voice in our head. Later on, when the time comes to choose a career path, we take the wrong steps.When you are in 20's you can fake it through, but when you are in your 30's you will be drawn into hobbies instead of creating you path. in your 40's the worst thing can happen. you become replaceable. Somebody younger, cheaper and more in touch with trends will replace you.
Masters, When they hear that voice, they pay attention to it. They become emotionally connected to their work and study and we know from Neurobiology the more focused and emotionally connected you are to your work, the faster you learn, the better you learn. being emotionally connected to your work, make you persistent. and persistence is the most important key factor in becoming a master and achieving success. With this, you can push past through criticism and negative people.
How to achieve mastery?
I can't write on How To Become Successful In life. Even if a could, I wouldn't do it here. It is going to be a big book which Is not suitable for " blog post " format. But, We can learn from other masters.
What's better than learning mastery from the master who wrote books on Human nature.
like most of us, He was stranded on an Island and moving between jobs. The author and best seller Robert Greene. He Crafted an amazing book Called Mastery. This is a book like Thomas' guid for ship building. If you want to know How To Become Successful In life, one of the ways is to read this book and use it into your life.
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