Destruction for Construction

In 1914 Thomas Edison’s factory in West Orange, New Jersey, was virtually destroyed by fire. Although the damage exceeded $2 million, the buildings were insured for only $238,000 because they were made of concrete and were thought to be fireproof. Much of Edison’s life work went up in smoke and flames that December night.

At the height of the fire, Edison’s 24-year-old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father. He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.

“My heart ached for him,” said Charles.

Edison was then 67 — no longer a young man — and everything was going up in flames.

However, 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 the first phonograph. - adapted from web


One of the motto that has always interested me was the one I saw in Coimbatore. It was that of the Late G D Naidu, Industrialist, inventor, entrepreneur and educationalist. The motto read 'Destruction for Construction'. Somehow it has always stayed in my mind.

There is an eternal truth in it. Anything that has to be constructed has to face destruction, and from the ruins will arise new ideas like a phoenix. It says a lot about the resilience of the humans and his never say die spirit.