Questions

(Quotes from Ed in Red)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Blaming Father

Hi Ed,

Thanks for all your wisdom!

After thinking about my losses and other aspects of my life, I know a major reason of my failures is due to my psychology. I believe I have this due to a very unsupportive, negative father, who subconsciously wants me to fail.

You might consider taking your feelings about <failure> to Tribe.

If what you really like to do is lose and blame your father, then you are getting what you want, and that might count as a win.

The Secret To Success

is knowing whom to blame

for your failures

Clip: http://www.norcalblogs.com/

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Dealing with Loss 
 

Ed,

Thanks for your sharing your feelings.

You are welcome.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Sorry About Sadness

Thank you for your concern.

I'm OK.

I cherish my sadness and wouldn't want to miss experiencing a minute of it or distract myself from feeling it with funny movies.

I am calling a special Tribe meeting to help me experience as much of it as I can.

In the case of that particular movie, the premise is actually pretty close to what we already have now - so the movie might be useful to support sadness after all.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Grief Cycle

see: Early Warning System

The only emotions that bother me seem to be the ones that I am unwilling or unable to experience in the moment of now.

The Tribe and the Healing Field of Acknowledgement are essential support in working through the resistance and in converting feelings to insights.

The Tribe Can Help Convert

Resistance

to insight

along the path to

A Place They Call Aha

Clips:

http://www.chesskids.com/level2/defend.gif

August 13, 2008

Liquid Capital Flows

One approach is to identify all the levels and all the flow rates between them.  Then define the rates as a function of the levels.

You can develop your model by recursively simulating the behavior and checking against the real world.

Feedback Model

for a bucket with a hole in it.

If Rate = Level / Time_Constant

Level decays exponentially.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Early Warning System

re: Uncomfortable Feelings

Ed Says: Pain is a function of resistance to experience.

An early warning system, like the lump in your throat, could be saying beware pain may be on the horizon.

Check out the "Fight or Flight" reaction --- when feeling threatened adrenaline increases in the body causes physical feelings of nausea (throw up food just eaten so blood is not pooled in the stomach for digestion so can use all the energy reserves to run or fight) or needing to urinate / deficate (diarrhea & gut wrenching feeling) so can run.

Yes, in TTP, we hold all feelings have positive intentions.

In my own case, I am dealing with sadness, disorganization, denial, anger, longing, feelings of worthlessness and lack of joy.

In experiencing this process, my family, friends and Tribe are invaluable.

Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Learn to get in touch

with the silence within yourself

and know that everything in this life

has a purpose.

There is no need to go to India

or anywhere else to find peace.

You will find that deep place of silence

right in your room, your garden

or even your bathtub.

--- Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

The Kübler-Ross Grief Cycle 

Denial, Anger, Bargaining,

Depression, and Acceptance.

John Bowlby

formulates Attachment Theory

and identifies the ebb and flow

of processes such as

Shock and Numbness,

Yearning and Searching,

Disorganization and Despair,

and Reorganization.

John Bowlby's Attachment Theory

Attachment is a special emotional relationship

that involves an exchange

of comfort, care, and pleasure.

Bowlby describes attachment

as a lasting psychological connectedness

between human beings.

Bowlby claims

that early experiences in childhood

have an important influence

on development and behavior later in life.

Our early attachment styles

are established in childhood

through the infant / caregiver relationship.

Bowlby also claims

that attachment has an evolutionary component.

It it aids in survival.

The propensity

to make strong emotional bonds

to particular individuals

[is] a basic component

of human nature.

-- John Bowlby

Clips:

http://www.chiffandfipple.com/

cf8-2-03/elisabeth.jpg

http://www.nobullyforme.org/

images/kublerross1.jpg

http://www.psychotherapyconsultants.co.uk/

orientation.html

http://psychology.about.com/od/

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Dealing with Loss

see: The Day After

Ed,

I just read your post on August 8th regarding how you felt the day after your birthday and I just wanted to send you my best wishes.

Dealing with loss and separation can be difficult even if you ultimately learn lessons from the experiences.

Thank you for your support and willingness to assist.  That is the essential attitude of TTP.

My friends, family and Tribe are providing precious support in staying in the moment, experiencing this passage, noticing AHA's and staying in the flow of right livelihood.

Grief - The DIM process

Grief - The Sharing-Feelings Way

Clips:

http://www.phpc.org/clientimages/

29712/diaconate/grief210s-w.jpg

http://bbsnews.net/bbsn_photos/

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Choices and Making Decisions

Dear Mr. Ed Seykota,

I am contacting you because I wish to join your Associates Program to gain a deeper understanding on the development of trend following mechanical trading systems.

I hold the bachelor degree in electronics engineering and I graduated on June with the Ph.D in microelectronics engineering from [University]. In addition to working toward my Ph.D, I have been using my entire spare time to educate myself on the financial markets using the economist, financial times and financial literature. Also, I have your Trading Tribe book and plan to read it in the next 1-2 weeks.

Having traded unprofitably my first mini-FX account, loosing $500 out of $770, I realized the need for rules in trading and I investigated trading systems. I have been heavily influenced by the Market Wizards and I abandoned academia to pursue my passion for the markets and mechanical trading systems. Recently I programmed in Matlab the exponential average crossover system, the support-resistance system and I have attached the results in this e-mail. Unfortunately, at this time I am not trading and I do not have a database available to complete the 'Trends' exercise, and the copper and crude oil data to complete the 'Diversification Study'.

I wish to improve my knowledge on trend following mechanical trading systems and I want to join your Associates Program. My goal is to become a professional trend-following systems developer/trader and I need your help and guidance.

At the moment I have the option to attend a 12-month ... risk management and financial engineering programme starting on October, and gain formal qualification that would allow me into interviews and hopefully a job as quantitative analyst. However, the [course] will cost $47,000 and there is no guarantee the job market will be in better condition when I graduate on September 2009.

You might consider taking your feelings about <choices and making decisions> to Tribe.

Conundrums

may indicate resistance

to experiencing uncertainty.

Clip: http://www.wittysparks.com/

2006/08/23/confusion-within/

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Uncomfortable Feelings

In TTP, we hold that all feelings have positive intentions.

Discomfort indicates a judgment about the feeling and  unwillingness to experience it.

In Tribe meetings, we can assist each other to dissolve our judgments, experience our feelings and harvest their positive intentions.

Pain is a Function

of resistance to experience

Clip: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Moving On

Hi Ed,

I am no longer the owner of my retail Italian Gelato store.

Ed, with your help and support, I manage to sit tight and wait through 1.5 years of my business being up for sale; the deal finally closes on June 1, 2008 : ).

I am now enjoying a 2+ month sabbatical from working 7 days a week which refreshes my mind and re-energizes my soul. I am now ready to continue with my ultimate intention of creating a world class investment company.

Ed, I am now comfortable with the equities trend following system that I design and am ready for the next step of creating an investment vehicle, getting licenses, contacting professionals in the industry, and begin raising money.

Ed, at this point I feel that something is holding me back. I draft an email that is to be sent to [Name] at [Firm] and it sits on my desktop unsent. [His] office is relatively close to where I live, and I wish to follow your advice with respect to beginning in the business by "hanging out with traders" and contact him and include some of my equities research in the email.

I know that deep down in my heart that right after I "start" things will progress nicely, right now I feel at a crossroads or roadblock. Up until this point I have been thinking about trading for years, trading my own account which is undercapitalized, and testing, this next step seems to feel more real and I do not wish to re-experience the last 3.5 years of getting stuck in my retail business that I could not get out of.

I then think to my self that this email I have unsent in my computer is similar to risking a lot of my equity on one trade or even putting to much thought on the next girl that I wish to go on a date with, I feel that this email I am going to send out is make-it-or-break-it for some reason.

I attempt to undo this stuck-ness pattern by thinking about the large number of years I will be in the investment business and how this initial email will only be 1 out of thousands of communications I send out, this somehow calms my gut and I now see the parallels to system trading many numerous smaller positions instead of the one big trade strategy.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Marathon Project Update

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Wants a Free Book

Dear Ed Seykota,

Can I please get a free copy of your book. I now this sounds lame but I am only 20 and I only have 700 dollars that I am investing in the stock market right now.

You might consider taking your feelings about <not enough money> to Tribe.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Aviary Aphorisms

Ed,

Something for you.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Happy Birthday

Ed,

Here are some things for you.

Black Mountain Rag

Friday, August 8, 2008

The Day After

Hi Ed,

How do you feel on the day after your birthday?

I am still experiencing emptiness, sadness, frustration, remorse, guilt, nausea and anger, among other things.

I am willing to keep experiencing these things, and to learn many lessons from them.  I am implementing many new resources.

I am also developing great compassion for people who are in process of separating from primary relationships.

I am also deeply grateful for all my friends and Tribe Members who are supporting me on this path.

Separation With Unwillingness

Let me RUIN your LIFE.

Let me BREAK your HEART.

Let me RIP your WORLD into LITTLE PIECES.

Let me DESTROY who you THOUGHT you were.

Then I'll ask you why can't we be friends?

Separation with Willingness

Clips:

http://x59.xanga.com/

9eac7b13c4333136439940/z92283574.jpg

http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Reflections the Essentials Workshop

I thank Ed, Charles, and all workshop members for the learning I experienced at the Executing the Essentials workshop.

I really like the Fredian Psychology chart and am quite intrigued and amazed how my mental experiences follow it very closely.

My mind "functions" more clearly and efficiently now as I let each part of my mind do its component part of the mental "flow" or "mental system". I spend much less time medicating myself or asking a part to do a job it is not designed to do.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Last Night's Tribe Meeting -

Fighting In Front of Kids

I sent you a FAQ on July 18 2008 about an abusive father. I read my entry and then glanced over to the picture you posted of a man and woman and felt an immediate sensation of fear and anxiety.

I planned to take these feelings to my tribe meeting the next day. At the tribe meeting I had a desire to experience these feelings but during the first hot seat another member was doing all of a sudden I had an ah ha during his session about those situations I experienced as a child.

I had always blamed my dad for coming home drunk, starting trouble and causing turmoil in the home -- the old cause and effect he is the one to blame thing.

My ah ha was that this was not something he did alone. He liked to get drunk but when he came in the front door mom would not leave it alone. She would start in on him and then the fight was on with us kids just hoping it would stop soon and no one would get hurt too bad.

As one member pointed out there was a system in place where he would do his thing and then she would do hers escalating the fighting. After I realized this a big smile came on my face and I felt free again.

Thank you for sharing your process.

Couple Who Do Not Receive Each Other

tend to Fight

Couples who fight in front of kids

train them to do the same.

Clip: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/

Thursday, August 7, 2008
 

The Positive Intentions of Failure and Loss

Ed,

I work on feelings of lack of courage in a TT session. I have some AHAs to share with FAQ readers. Failure and Loss normally bring people negative feelings, such as pain, anger, frustration, and so on.

People also are unwilling to experience those feelings, so they regard failure and loss bad and try to avoid them.

But negative feelings of failure and loss have positive intentions: They tell us that something is not working or doesn't function properly any more, let it go.

We might be able to learn something from our mistakes that cause the failure and loss.
We might study more in the areas that we are undertaking.

Failure and Loss are the part of a process. We might embrace them. Willingness to experience feelings of failure and loss gives us the courage to trial and error and can help us to learn from failures and to grow.

A Chinese saying that I like: Failure is the mother of Success.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Happy Birthday

Hi Ed,

Happy birthday! Hope you're doing well with everything.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Ed.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Thursday,  August 7, 2008

Happy Birthday Chief 

Hi Ed,

If there's something that you're dreaming of then may it all come true, because you deserve it all ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world. Hope your Birthday gently breezes into your life all the choicest of things and all that your heart holds dear

Have A Fun- Filled Day, because Birthdays Bring Along A truly wonderful chance to leave aside every care and simply enjoy.

Have An Extra - Special one.

August 6, 2008 

Happy Birth Day

Ed,

Happy Birth Day.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Meditation as Cause

Hi Ed,

Ed says, "In the Extreme, Meditation can become medication and interfere with trading." (Meditation and Hypnosis, 7/16/08)

Ed says, "I do not have any evidence that Meditation is the "cause" for "good" or "bad" trading." (Meditation as Cause, 7/21/08)

Causality has different meanings depending if you are viewing it from the System Model or the Causal Model.

In the Causal Model, brakes cause a car to slow down.

In the System Model, brakes cause a car to go faster along a winding road.

Interference with trading can produce "good" or "bad" results depending on if the trading is going "well" or "poorly."

The Function (Purpose) of a Thing

depends a lot

on your point of view.

August 6, 2008

August 6, 2008

Thank you for sharing your process.

An Ounce of Receiving

is worth a ton of fixing.

Clip: http://att.iparenting.com/preconception/

August 6, 2008

Wants to Attend Breathwork

Hi Ed,
 

Happy Birthday Ed!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Workshop Feedback #2

Confusion and Humor

Ed:

At the TTP Workshop, my bumper sticker is "Decide, Commit, Do."

When working on that intention through the TTP process, I experience extreme feelings of anger. After the anger is expressed, I experience strong feelings of confusion.

As I experience those feelings of confusion, I recall an instance in first grade when I cannot learn how to tie my shoes. The other children have figured it out, I cannot, and the teacher is moving on to the next task. I am embarrassed that I do not know how to perform the task. I do not ask the teacher to stop and explain it again. I pretend like I know how to do it, but I do not.

When I return home from the Workshop I recall other instances where I experience the same confusion.

When I am very young, perhaps between the ages of 5 and 8, I recall on several occasions striking myself in the head with a short wooden rod after I "make" my parents angry.

When I am 10 years old I suffer a concussion while playing a game with friends. When I am 11 a baseball strikes me on the side of the head during little league practice. At age 12 I suffer another concussion while playing with some friends at recess.

During all of these instances I have the same feelings of numbed confusion.

As I grow older the moments of confusion seem to center around school work and professional challenges, rather than head trauma. However, the feeling of confusion is the same, as are the feelings of anger that attend such a state.

Upon returning home from the Workshop, I first notice that I view the feeling of confusion differently. Instead of dreading it, I now see it more positively as a feeling which is alerting me to an opportunity to figure something out. I am curious by nature, so the opportunity to learn something new is fun.

Confusion is seen as an ally now, and not as the jailer it once was. For example, my home is quite messy when I return from the Workshop. Typically, this would produce tremendous confusion, often expressed through angry outbursts at my wife. This time, however, I react in a more productive manner.

Though I still experience tremendous confusion, I now share my sense of confusion with my wife and begin cleaning the house. My confusion then dissipates. My wife and I do not argue. In my professional life, confusion still arises as I manage the day-to-day activities of my business.

However, I do not get angry. I view each task as less dire, I take action, and the feeling of confusion reduces. I get more done, and with less anger and drama. Moreover, I notice that I feel happier, generally. If I decide not to do something, it now feels like a matter of choice, and not the result of foregoing action due to the confusion that will result.

Incidentally, I believe that a critical step in this transformative process was the injection of humor in the TTP process. If you recall, about halfway through the process I was swinging my head in wide arcs to express the confusion I was feeling.

You and other Workshop participants began receiving my feelings with respectful, good-natured humor, at times commenting that my form looked really fun. I agreed, and at that moment my prior associations with the feeling of confusion changed forever!

I believe this was essential to my progress, as it allowed more than mere expression to occur; it also created new and more preferable associations with the feeling of confusion. I intend to use this technique in my own TTP processes, and would encourage others to experiment with this technique.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Workshop Feedback

Hi Ed,

I want to thank you for the workshop and report what I notice.

At the workshop I notice feelings come up in my body that are new. At one point, I am doing a feeling exercise, my hands seem to turn into blocks and become so heavy I cannot lift them, I allow it. I also remember the feeling of floating above the ground just after the workshop ended; it is like I am above the crowd looking down and feeling “spaced out.”

I leave the workshop feeling lighter, like I leave some baggage there. Now I notice people communicating with me in new ways. I find myself experiencing my feelings and genuinely receiving others feelings. This is really showing up in my relationship with my wife and children.

Thank you Ed!

Another thing I notice, I am thinking about a question you ask me before the workshop, “ what is the positive intention of a dysfunctional digestive system?” Answering this is most beneficial to me, Thank you!

At the workshop I point out that you may have swapped one medicine “food” for another “gout related” you thank me.

Thank you for sharing your process.

At this point the Workshop gout is gone. 

As far as I can tell, its positive intention is to inform me of internal chemical imbalances, particularly in my purine / uric acid system.

On another level, it may have to do with reminding me to "take a stand" on issues.

-----

Gout is a name for the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in poorly perfused tissues, including bursae, ligaments, articular cartilage, and synovial membranes.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Workshop Feedback:

System Thinking and Awareness of Emotion 

3000-Day Weight-Line Penetration

Ed:

For a 15-year period prior to attending my first TTP Workshop in January 2007, I struggle with diet and weight gain. I try numerous diets, ranging from low-fat-high-carbohydrate diets, to low-carbohydrate-high-fat diets.

The unspoken principle guiding every diet is a seemingly simple cause-and-effect proposition: if I consume less "bad" calories, and exercise more consistently, future weight loss is ensured.

Despite those efforts, my weight continues to increase along a steady, upward trend punctuated by intermittent reversals where weight loss occurs, but is not maintained.

I attend my first TTP Workshop in January 2007. At that workshop I am introduced to systems thinking; i.e., thinking about the world and ourselves as interrelated, complex systems where everything affects everything else, and where simple notions of cause and effect are no longer looked to as primary sources of truth, blame, prediction, or control.

I also learn that every feeling we experience is a functional element of our design, and that our judgments about these functional feelings often cause harmful, recurring dramas in our lives.

After the Workshop I focus less on controlling my feelings, and more on experiencing them. I also study systems and complexity theory. I have profound insights about the role of systems and complexity in many areas of my life.

One such area is my health and diet. I abandon my search for a diet based on simple cause and effect and requiring a predictable diet and exercise regimen. Instead, I find a health and fitness plan based on systems theory, and advanced by a systems-thinker and scientist.

As with TTP, where we learn to embrace the chaotic yet functional nature of feelings, his health plan similarly teaches an appreciation for the chaotic yet powerful design of our metabolism and overall physiology.

I adopt the plan. I lose 12 pounds. I feel stronger. I feel energized. Along the way I experience cravings for certain foods. I experience feelings of loss and confusion. At times I feel hungry.

I use what I learn from TTP to work through those feelings. I maintain the weight loss while increasing muscle mass and stamina. The combination of my new fitness plan with TTP results in a fitness "bliss."

I attend the most recent TTP Workshop. During the weekend our group explores the principles of systems thinking. I feel energized by the discussion. At the Workshop I also work on experiencing several feelings associated with my bumper stickers: anger, confusion, disgust, and dread. I have two very productive TTP sessions.

When I return from the Workshop, I am at zero-point. My mind is quiet. I am experiencing feelings fully and freely. I am energized and at peace. I also notice that I have lost an additional three pounds over the course of the weekend. Soon after, I set new benchmarks in various exercises. Though my bumper stickers have nothing to do with weight loss or fitness, I achieve a weight that I have not experienced since 1996 -- a roughly 3,000 day downside breakout!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Measuring Drawdowns

Dear Ed,

I wrote to you in early January telling you how I had commenced trading my own system. You asked me to let you know how it was going, with particular reference to any draw-down periods I may encounter.

I am pleased to say that so far the system has performed well within the bounds of what was expected from the testing i did. I have generated positive returns thus far, with a volatility that is very much in line with what I expected.

I have been busy researching improvements to my system. Until recently I had found only minor advances, however in the last week, I have found something that significantly improves the performance of the system.

I look forward to implementing this as soon as possible. As for draw-downs, the largest I have encountered is 16.4%, during July. This occurred after a sharp run up in equity during June. The drawdown was the result of several profitable positions unwinding at the same time.

So far I haven't recovered much of this draw-down, as the system hasn't generated many trades lately. I consider a draw-down that comes about from the unwinding of profits to be different to a draw-down that is from numerous consecutive losing trades.

To get a better feel for what the expected draw-downs from losing trades (as opposed to the unwinding of winning trades), I have begun measuring 2 versions of the maximum draw-down. The first version is a simple peak to trough maximum draw-down, while the second measures from a set number of days prior to the peak.

For example, I can measure the draw-down from the equity level 1 month before the peak. I use the second measure to attempt to remove some of the effect of unwinding of profitable trades, leaving a measure of the draw-downs due to consecutive losing trades.

This is by no means an exact measure, however, it does give me a better understanding of how the draw-downs occur, thus when they come I will be better prepared for them. I am still working for a bank, and not enjoying it very much.

Once I have grown my capital to a level that will allow me to leave the bank, I will be handing in my notice. At this stage, I think the quickest way to bring that about is to continue to trade the system, and wait for it to produce the goods. I look forward to having more time to dedicate to trading and other things I enjoy.

I hope this finds you in good health.

Thank you for sharing your process.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Tribe Update

Dear Ed,

Thank you for being a firm support for many of us around the globe who want to grow. Our tribe has been running for 3 years and we recently took in a third member who seems to contribute a lot. After the initial take off (2 years ago) with a lot of good things happening at the start of the tribe everything has calmed down with the trending of many small improvements.

For instance I have been using tobacco 25 years and never wanted to stop. So one day I woke up and just didn't want it no more. It really is easy to quit things you don't want.

Been off the s--- for 10 months now. One of my tribe buddies woke my interest for training so I made an investigation ... and found out [many things] It's close to amazing. Another role model I have is Clarence Bass ... he passed 70 but man what a body he has!

Trading-wise I'm down 10% this year but that is to be expected considering the erratic trading stock markets. Sooner a later a new stock trend will come along and then we will rock again! Also I have learned to cope with traumas and sorrow in a better way, my son was diagnosed with autism and man that did hurt. However he has a lot of strengths that we develop, he loves computers and math. It could be worse.

Thank you for sharing your process.

People Pretty Much

do whatever they do.

Clip: http://megab.blogspot.com/

August 2, 2008

Wants to Know Why

FAQ does not  ... make up reasons for things

or answer "why" questions. See Ground Rules.

The Sign that Points the Way to

Going-Around-in-Circles

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Reporting In

Friday, August 1, 2008

Doesn't  Know Where to Start

Ed,

First of all thank you for making the sharing of all this information possible.

My question is a very basic one. I've been spending a lot of my time recently understanding systems trading and trend following, reading through Wizards, Trend Following, as well as many articles and your own website.

Now I want to start putting a system together myself but I don't know where to start.

I've been a relatively successful "fundamentally-based" trader for the last 10 years but feel that in the last few months I have been "awakened" to the reality of trend following.

So while I can analyze a company to death (but still can't tell you where the stock will go), I have no idea where to start when it comes to systems based trading.

There are, of course, hundreds of systems and databases for sale, but without having any experience in this space it seems impossible to sort through them all.

You might consider taking your feelings about <wanting someone to help you> to Tribe.

Aside from that, you might just keep waiting around until the moment of now arrives.

It's Always Now

Clip: http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/

Friday, August 1, 2008

Workshop Feedback

Dear Ed,

Thank you for your unflagging commitment to helping others.

Thank you for experiencing gout, a lack of sleep, and a whole host of feelings in pursuing that end.

Thank you offering yourself to anyone who is willing.

Thank you for another incredible workshop weekend.

Though quite different from my first, it was uniquely magnificent in its own right. The two weeks since have been replete with change. I intend to share those observations in subsequent posts.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Ed,

You might like this,

from 3-rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Great Value in Disaster

Thomas Edison’s laboratory was virtually destroyed by fire in December, 1914. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison’s life’s work went up in spectacular flames that December night. At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24-year old son, Charles, frantically searched for his father among the smoke and debris. He finally found him, calmly watching the scene, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.

“My heart ached for him,” said Charles. “He was 67 – no longer a young man – and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, “Charles, where’s your mother?” When I told him I didn’t know, he said, “Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.”

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph.

Edison is a master at finding positive intentions.  He views his first thousand attempts at finding a material for his filament as successful researches in finding out what doesn't work.

Edison, Contemplating Phonograph

Clip: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/business/

yourmoney/11edison.html?_r=1&oref=slogin