Part 6/9:
The story of Thomas Edison echoes this sentiment. Early in life, Edison was deemed a failure by his teachers and society. However, he chose to define himself by his potential rather than others’ judgments. His relentless pursuit, even after thousands of failures while inventing the electric light bulb, led him to success. Edison's perspective on failure—viewing it as a stepping stone rather than a definition of his worth—mirrors the Taoist principle that our aspirations and abilities shape our identity more than society's labels.