Charles F. Kettering
Charles F. Kettering was a great man who you can read about in the history books. Why is he great? Well, He invented about 140 different things from the spark plug to the electric cash register to air conditioning for refridgerators and homes. He worked for General Motors too. I think he is great for all of that and his many sage anecdotes.
Most of his anecdotes are quite inspirational or funny. Sometimes both. I feel like Kettering really believed that people could do just about anything that they set their mind to and make positive changes to the world if they dreamed positively, never gave up, and never listen to the people that say you cannot accomplish something.
Here are some of the anecdotes attributed to him —
“It doesn’t matter if you try and try and try again, and fail. It does matter if you try and fail, and fail to try again.”
“Incurable diseases are only those the doctors do not know how to cure.”
“The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.”
“It is not what we know that is important, it is what we do not know.”
“With willing hands and open minds, the future will be greater than the most fantastic story you can write.”
“Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.”
…and a story —
When Kettering wanted a problem solved, he would call together his staff. However, he would first place a table outside the room where they would be meeting with a sign that read like this: “Leave your slide rules here.” If he didn’t do that, he says, he’d find someone reaching for his slide rule in the middle of the meeting. In a few minutes, this person would be on his feet saying, “Boss, you can’t do it.”
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