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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Charles Kettering, Problems and Character Flaws?

Photo by: startupquote.com
 Article first published as Twitter Helping People Like Robin Roberts Find Strength in Weakness on Technorati.

"I am not interested in the past. I am interested in the future, for that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life." ~Charles Kettering*

Ohio born inventor, businessman and graduate of Ohio State University in electrical engineering, Charles Kettering was a man who believed in the future, because as he stated, "that is where I expect to spend the rest of my life."

Charles held 186 patents. He says, "A problem well stated, is a problem half solved." One can see that he must have been good at stating problems if he held 186 patents.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a slue of problems? Have you ever found that you are constantly uncovering problems all the time? Well, this might be considered a character flaw in some, however, as Kettering says, you are half way there just by defining your problem.

Inspiration comes from so many places, especially if your eyes are open. Today, I wanted to lift someones spirits. Someone who I have never met, yet comes into my living room on a regular basis. I found the Kettering quote and thought it might help. Then, I decided to go one step further and find out who Kettering really was. I was so inspired by him, that I decided to write this post.

"Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it," says Kettering.  As I read this quote from him, I was wondering if the founders of StumbleUpon had ever happened upon this quote.

I continue to be inspired by inventors, scientists and futurists. They are what keep me going; keep me pushing; keep me stumbling. Life is like that. If you have your eyes open, you can see 1,000 times more things than those who are living nothing more than a mundane life completely content with the status quo. Now, don't get me wrong, there are good qualities about mundane actions.  We really can't avoid them, but not looking forward to the future and being content with your problems will never grow you; evolve you.

Oddly enough, I stumbled on the fact that Charles Kettering helped establish the New York cancer research facility, The Sloan-Kettering Institute. The journalist that I was trying to lift up is Robin Roberts from GMA, Good Morning America. She happens to be battling a blood medical condition classified as pre-leukemia and going through Chemo and a bone marrow transplant on Thursday and lives in New York.

Somehow, life has a way of bringing everything together. Somehow, I am going to believe that my donated quote that was looking to raise spirits will do more than that; that it will bring an energy from Kettering to me to her that will carry her into the future...because that is where we will all spend the rest of our lives. Inspire someone today. It's the little things that matter in life.

So Ms. Roberts, I send positive energy your way. I see you have a bright future. I see everyone in the future with fear, however, fear with energy creates courage. I wish you courage for these coming days. I send you energy for your tired body. I send you energy to lift your spirit. I send you hope for a bright future where we all will live.

You inspire me, Ms. Roberts; as a journalist and a kind human spirit. Carpe Diem. 

"The future can be anything we want it to be, providing we have the faith and that we realize that peace, no less than war, required 'blood and sweat and tears." ~Charles Kettering


*Quote pulled from Norman Vincent Peale, Words That Inspired Him.
Interestingly enough, the quotes that I found on-line differed slightly from the quote I pulled from Peale's book. And so it goes, the battle to define fact checking in journalism.


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