13A–Reading Reflection No. 1

13A – Reading Reflection No. 1: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

What surprised you the most? What surprised me the most after reading is book was the amount of scrutiny the Wright brothers received. They were watched and discouraged by the military, the press, etc. Prior to reading this book, I had no idea that their invention was controversial.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I most admire the tenacity of the Wright brothers. They had to push through a great deal of setbacks, and risked a lot to see their invention succeed (even their own lives). It takes a large level of dedication to not give up after so many failures and judgment, and I really admire that about the Wright brothers.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? There is not much I least admire about the Wright brothers. They are exceptional entrepreneurs, and I did not notice any traits in their story that I disliked while reading the book.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? The Wright brothers faced a great deal of adversity and failure. The community often times thought their flights were a joke and did not believe them we they succeeded; additionally, they had many failures and crashes before they were able to finally succeed. Whenever they faced adversity and/or failure, they always persevered through and were able to find a solution to their problem with hard work and focus.

What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? The Wright brothers exhibited hard work, focus, and tenacity. They had an idea, and were able to see their idea come to life by pushing through every obstacle and not quitting until they found a solution.

Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was when the book discussed how the press would not give the Wright brothers the attention they deserved. I feel like this was a huge invention that no matter what the size should receive press, but the book explained the press was not impressed, which was very surprising.

If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I would ask the Wright brothers why they did not stop after they were able to fly the first time. The brothers kept on working to make their invention go longer, fly higher, and overall be better. I find this interesting, and wonder if they had a set goal where once that was achieved they were willing to stop experimenting.

For fun: What do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion? I believe the Wright brothers saw hard work as persevering through all obstacles and achieving a successful end goal, no matter what the cost. I do agree with this, but maybe would limit the physical aspect of hard work as I do not see achieving a goal always as a justifiable reason to risk your life.