“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
~ Thomas Edison
~ Thomas Edison
If only I had known how badly Edison fudged the numbers in his aphorism, I could have lowered my sights and tried to find a career that did not demand more than I could give, even with years of quasimonastic dedication fueled by caffeine and adrenaline. If only I had known to aim lower, I could have been happier.
Maybe so, but the hypothetical happier me would be a different person, with their own “if only” musings. The actual me is emergent from countless choices and experiences, some good and some bad. Those choices and experiences did not latch onto a separate soul, like remoras that ride on a shark’s skin.
Image Sources
Downloaded stock images were lightly edited for use here.
Speech Bubbles © happyvector071| 123RF Stock Photo
Shark with Remoras © divepics | 123RF Stock Photo
– Gray button (upper left corner) reveals widgets, –
– above post (on phone) or beside it (on desktop). –
– above post (on phone) or beside it (on desktop). –
Mellow Curmudgeon 
Interesting perspective.
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If only I could quit playing the if only game. Wonderful introduction phrase about Edison fudging the numbers!
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Thanks. Your “if only” remark bumps up the score for the modern usage of the prefix [meta]: the word [regrets] is yet another thing that can fill the place held by [glop] in metaglop as glop about glop. There’s at least 6 by my count.
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I never met a glop I liked but I have recognized so few of the glops hiding in plain sight.
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