THE MAN WHO “THOUGHT” HIS WAY INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH THOMAS A. EDISON

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TRULY, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed 

with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their  translation into riches, or other material objects. 

A little more than thirty years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that 

men really do THINK AND GROW RICH. His discovery did not come about at 

one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a BURNING DESIRE to become 

a business associate of the great Edison. 

One of the chief characteristics of Barnes’ Desire was that it was definite. He 

wanted to work with Edison, not for him. Observe, carefully, the description of 

how he went about translating his DESIRE into reality, and you will have a better  understanding of the thirteen principles which lead to riches. When this DESIRE, <a href="http://c.jumia.io/?a=134212&c=703&p=r&E=kkYNyk2M4sk%3d&utm_source=cake&utm_medium=affiliation&utm_campaign=134212&utm_term="><img src="https://affiliates.jumia.com/banners/Jumia Kenya/PHONES-TABLETS/300X250.png"/></a>or impulse of thought, first flashed into his mind he was in no position to act upon 

it. Two difficulties stood in his way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not 

have enough money to pay his railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey. These diffi-

culties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any 

attempt to carry out the desire. 

But his was no ordinary desire! He was so determined to find a way to carry out 

his desire that he finally decided to travel by “blind baggage,” rather than be defeated. (To the uninitiated, this means that he went to East Orange on a freight 

train). He presented himself at Mr. Edison’s laboratory, and announced he had 

come to go into business with the inventor. In speaking of the first meeting be-

tween Barnes and Edison, years later, Mr. Edison said, “He stood there before 

me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression 

of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he 

had come after. I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a 

man really DESIRES a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future 

on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave him the op- portunity he asked for, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until 

he succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no mistake was made.” 

Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that occasion was far less important than that which he thought. Edison, himself, said so! It could not have been 

the young man’s appearance which got him his start in the Edison office, for that 

was definitely against him. It was what he THOUGHT that counted. If the sig-

nificance of this statement could be conveyed to every person who reads it, there 

would be no need for the remainder of this book. 

Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. He did get 

a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a very nominal wage, doing work that 

was unimportant to Edison, but most important to Barnes, because it gave him 

an opportunity to display his “merchandise” where his intended “partner” could 

see it.  Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring the coveted goal 

which Barnes had set up in his mind as his DEFINITE MAJOR PURPOSE. But  something important was happening in Barnes’ mind. He was constantly intensi-

fying his DESIRE to become the business associate of Edison. 

Psychologists have correctly said that “when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts 

in its appearance.” Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison,  moreover, he was DETERMINED TO REMAIN READY UNTIL HE GOT THAT  WHICH HE WAS SEEKING. 

He did not say to himself, “Ah well, what’s the use? I guess I’ll change my mind 

and try for a salesman’s job.” But, he did say, “I came here to go into business 

with Edison, and I’ll accomplish this end if it takes the remainder of my life.” He 

meant it! What a different story men would have to tell if only they would adopt a  DEFINITE PURPOSE, and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an  all-consuming obsession! 

Maybe young Barnes did not know it at the time, but his bulldog determination, 

his persistence in standing back of a single DESIRE, was destined to mow down 

all opposition, and bring him the opportunity he was seeking. 

When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a different  direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has 

a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form 

of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize  opportunity. Mr. Edison had just perfected a new office device, known at that 

time, as the Edison Dictating Machine (now the Ediphone). His salesmen were 

not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe it could be sold without 

great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in quietly, hidden in a 

queer looking machine which interested no one but Barnes and the inventor. 

Barnes knew he could sell the Edison Dictating Machine. He suggested this to 

Edison, and promptly got his chance. He did sell the machine. In fact, he sold it 

so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market it all over 

the nation. Out of that business association grew the slogan, “Made by Edison 

and installed by Barnes.” 

The business alliance has been in operation for more than thirty years. Out of 

it Barnes has made himself rich in money, but he has done something infinitely 

greater, he has proved that one really may “Think and Grow Rich.” 

How much actual cash that original DESIRE of Barnes’ has been worth to him, 

I have no way of knowing. Perhaps it has brought him two or three million dollars, but the amount, whatever it is, becomes insignificant when compared with 

the greater asset he acquired in the form of definite knowledge that an intangible 

impulse of thought can be transmuted into its physical counterpart by the appli-

cation of known principles. 

Barnes literally thought  himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He 

thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity 

to KNOW WHAT HE WANTED, AND THE DETERMINATION TO STAND BY 

THAT DESIRE UNTIL HE REALIZED IT. He had no money to begin with. He 

had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and 

the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself number one man 

with the greatest inventor who ever lived.