Some business stories leave you feeling impressed at the courage of the person at the core of the business: its founder. Recently I watched this video about how LEGO® came about. (Thanks to the great website, Brain Pickings for leading me to it.)
Building a business brick by brick
Prior to watching, I knew very little about the LEGO® company, who started it or when. And I suspect we may be getting an edited, Disney-like version of the low- and highlights, but hey…
The story reminds me of my own experiences and of stories heard over the years from so many business owners. Tales of last-minute cancelled orders, chance meetings, triumphs and disasters, personal tragedy and inspired ideas.
Keeping going
What struck most, though, was the fortitude of the business owner. When most people would give up, he kept going. He found ways around problems and so stayed in business long enough to give his son the opportunity to think creatively about little plastic bricks and how they could fit together.
It’s a charming video which, to those of us who’ve experienced the highs and lows of business, has hidden depths. As Thomas Edison said, ‘Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up’. LEGO’s founder didn’t give up.
I have one comment to the makers of the video, too. Not all women simper… or knit. Some of us start businesses of our own.
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