The Journey , #8 – Is luck real?

@Thomas A. Edison: “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.”

One of my colleagues says I'm lucky and I agree with him on that. But is luck real? I won 2 nights at The Barcelona EDITION . Juanjo Ortega Roig , thanks for the hotel voucher. Luck or math? The reality is that I bought a lot of Magic Line Sant Joan de Déu raffle tickets.

The discussion about the difference between fate and chance in business success is really interesting. When someone gets recognition, a promotion or an award, we think of luck. But do we think about the multiples times he or she tried?

More than any other inventor in history, Edison held more than 1,000 patents. His most important invention was one that couldn’t be patented: the process of modern invention itself. He created a process in which skilled scientists, designers and others collaborated at a single facility to research, develop and manufacture new technologies. Menlo Park, where innovation begins.

The key thing there:?try just one more time. The superpower: the habit of doing. Another quote from him: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10.000 ways that won’t work.”

The weakness is giving up. The more times we try, the more likely we are to succeed. Luck or math?

1

Curiosity

Edison Awards ? honored some of the most innovative products and business leaders last week in Fort Myers, Florida US. I was there last year and I discovered the Edison and Ford Winter Estate.?Edison went to Fort Myers searching of a warm escape from the US cold northern winters.

He spent long summers there and he replicated his idea of having a single facility to research with others: Edison Guest House. He invited many friends, colleagues and scientists to his summer house. One of them was Henry Ford. He enjoyed the visit so much that he purchased the home adjacent to the Edison Winter Estate.?

In those houses there were many conversations about business, #innovation and revolutionary ideas in a place that looks like a paradise.?

2

Community

Some of the amazing winners this year:

• AI Assisted Medicine Gold award went to Viz Aneurysm Software by Viz.ai , the first fully-automated #AI algorithm that detects suspected cerebral aneurysms.
• Safety and Security Solutions Gold award went to Self-Test Series of Detectors by 霍尼韦尔 , self-test technology that enables smoke and heat detectors to be tested remotely using an innovative compact module that fits inside the footprint of existing detectors.
• Game Changer Gold award went to Pillbot by Endiatx ,?it is a swimming robot pill that forms a virtual endoscope in the human stomach. This allow a gastroenterologist to conduct a basic upper endoscopy screening over a zoom call with the patient in the comfort of their own home.

Discover more at #EdisonAwards website.

3

Planet

Planet will be a better place with the new generations of girls. They are attending workshops here to learn more about science and technology thanks to Oracle. Silvia Recio Perez invited me to attend #Oracle4Girls last Saturday. I had the opportunity to talk to some parents about AI, women in tech and the future of our daughters.

Created in 2017, Oracle4Girls is a project designed and organized by Oracle Women’s Leadership Barcelona in collaboration with Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona . The initiative has the aim of inspiring girls in Spain to study STEM careers by introducing them to technology from a young age.

The agenda of the workshops are based on robotics, programming, 3D printing, machine learning, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and much more. Feedback and response is really positive.

Anna Moreu Hostench , the initiative’s leader, has actively promoted the program along with her team and it has reached thousands of girls in Spain. Her dream of empowering girls to study #STEM careers has become a reality.

Congratulations to Ana, Silvia, Joan Planella and all the 甲骨文 community who make it possible.

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