We can learn from the experience of the great inventor Thomas Alva Edisonthat sometimes a series of apparent failures is really a precursor to success. The voluminous personal papers of Edison reveal that his inventions typically did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly from previous works. Mother Teresa

　　Mother Teresa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name "Saint of the Gutters." The devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She founded an order of nuns called the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India dedicated to serving the poor. Almost 50 years later, the Missionaries of Charity have grown from 12 sisters in India to over 3,000 in 517 missions throughout 100 countries worldwide.

　　Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Whales, is remembered and respected bypeople all over the world more for her beauty, kindness, humanity and charitable activities than for her technical skills.