396 THE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL POWER
in a freight car, got his interview, told his story in person, and got the
job he sought.
Today this same man has retired from active business, having made
all the money he needs. His name, in case you wish to confirm what I
have said, is Edwin C. Barnes.
COMMENTARY
Edwin C. Barnes not only got a job wiU7 Edison, but he ultimately became a business
associate of the famed inventor. It was largely U7rough Barnes' belief in the Edison
dictating machine, and his unflagging salesmanship, that the device became a
staple in business offices throughout the country.By using his Imagination, Edwin Barnes saw the advantage of dose
association with a man like Thomas A. Edison. He saw that such an
association would give him the opportunity to study Mr. Edison and
at the same time it would bring him into contact with Mr. Edison's
friends, who are among the most influential people in the world.
These are but a few cases in which I have personally observed how
people have climbed to high places in the world and accumulated wealth
in abundance by making practical use of their Imagination.
COMMENTARY
When U7e first Xerox copies were introduced, the machines were very expensive.
So Xerox didn't sell the machines, they leased them and charged customers for
each copy that was made. It was a whole new way of doing business, it was
imaginative, and it changed U7e way modern offices worked.
RuU7 Handler's daughter Barbara liked playing dress-up and she liked playing
with dolls. When Ruth went looking for a doll that could be dressed up, she found
that there weren't any on the market. Every doll had just one dress. Why doesn't
somebody combine these two favorite pastimes, Handler wondered. So she did it
herself and named the doll for her daughter, calling it Barbie.