Reading Reflection No.1

I read David McCullough's The Wright Brothers. Here are my thoughts.

• What surprised me the most?
  I think what surprised me the most was how the brothers, Wilbur Wright specifically, were about to leave to college which may have prevented them from accomplishing what they eventually did. And what stopped him was a horrible accident that prevented him from leaving and left him to rest and think. Also, I was surprised that they discovered aviation here in the U.S. but no one here cared to support them, so they left for France. Also, their awards and sales amassed them 200,000 dollars, which is nothing in today's world for an invention that would change the world. 
• What about the entrepreneur did I most admire?
  The thing that I most admired about the Wright Brothers was their complete dedication, curiosity, and passion, towards aviation. And this was before aviation by humans was possible, which is inconceivable because it would have been like developing the cure for cancer now in today's world. 
• What about the entrepreneur did I least admire?
  I guess if I had to have a critique or something that I least admired of the Wright Brothers, it would be the fact that they took their invention to another country, instead of pushing harder to have their own country realize its importance.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity or failure? If so, what did they do about it?
  The Wright Brothers, like most entrepreneurs, encountered many events of adversity and failure. It was adversity in the first place, Wilbur's injury, that led them to go down the path that they did. While building and designing the machine, they had multiple failure, but they learned from each of them to improve the design. They also faced adversity in gaining support for their idea, and eventually left to France to reveal it to the world.
• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
  The Wright Brothers were extremely hard working and determined. They didn't let failure bring them down, but rather learned from it and improved. They were extremely passionate about their endeavor, and did what they believed in. 
• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
  I personally am fascinated by aviation and so the reading was something I really enjoyed. There was nothing that confused me in terms of the reading, however I was confused by the differences between our time period and the Wright Brothers. So many things were different, especially the value of innovation. 
• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
  I would ask them what it felt like when they flew for the first time, because I love flying and can not even comprehend or incredible it must have been.
  I would also ask how they first were inspired by aviation and when they first realized it might be possible for humans. In today's world, everything seems possible, and yet its hard to think of something that hasn't been done, which I guess is what entrepreneurship is all about. 
• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
  I believe that the Wright Brothers didn't really see hard work, as "hard work". They were passionate about aviation and what they were trying to do, and when your passionate and determined about something, it is not work, but purpose.