Bringing You Encouragement from Things “Right Under Your Nose”
The Express Way
Percy Spencer, the Microwave, and Making Life Easier
It’s either lounging on your kitchen countertop or suspended underneath your cabinets.
It comes in various makes and models.
Yes, it’s the Microwave.
That iconic rectangular metal box that’s magical in food prep.
How the microwave entered kitchens across the globe is an intriguing story.
Unlike inventions born after multiple trial and error testing, the microwave came to us by accident.
Here’s how it all began.
Travel back to 1945.
Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer and the fifth person hired to work at a young start-up business named The Raytheon Company, tested a magnetron.
During the testing, he noticed that a chocolate candy bar in his back pocket had melted.
He then pointed the magnetron tube toward other food items and discovered that it cooked those items much faster than a conventional oven would.
Mr. Spencer, twice orphaned (his mother abandoned him, and his dad died when he was 18 months old) and a grammar school dropout, cemented his place in tech history with his microwave patent in 1945.
If you’d like to read more about the man behind this remarkable invention, click on this link.
I remember when my wife and I got our first microwave. It was a countertop model and a gift from her parents.
And boy, did it change our lives.
The microwave becomes a member of your family. It becomes a staple. You can’t live without it.
The electromagnetic box is a visual aid showing the power of getting a job done promptly.
Whether you’re needing to thaw a pound of frozen ground beef to prepare a casserole, or you’re needing a quick meal defined as a TV Dinner or popping a bag of popcorn to eat while watching a movie … the microwave can do the job in record time!
But how can you and I can apply this to our personal development?
Is the microwave heating a lesson up to motivate us to become better family members, business owners, employees, and citizens?
I think so.
Here’s the lesson from the jaw dropping invention - the microwave.
It’s simple.
Make life easier for others.
Be the person in your family, at your workplace, or in the community who’s “Johnny on the spot” when there’s a need.
Respond quickly to solve problems.
Thaw frozen relationships caused by misunderstandings or arguments.
Melt hearts.
Help others.
Here’s your Principle, Plan, a Positive Approach Going Forward, and a Podcast.
Principle
You’re always needed to make someone’s life easier.
Plan
Who will you help today? What burden will you lift to make life easier for someone? Remember, someone is depending on you.
Positive Approach Going Forward
Determine that making life easier for others won’t be a one-time action. Being a practitioner of good deeds will reap better lives for everyone - INCLUDING YOU!
Podcast
Watch this inspirational short video from CBS Evening News on YouTube about a group of Minnesota 5th grade students raising $300,000 to make a playground inclusive for those with disabilities. Truly, an example of making life easier for others!
One more word ... What traits would you like to develop in your life? Is there a topic that you’d like for me to write on? Send me your suggestions at howellbigham@theencouragementexpress.com.
Let’s encourage each other,
-Howell
About The Encouragement Express
Thanks for visiting The Encouragement Express!
I'm Howell Bigham, and I'm the writer behind all the posts.
Are you looking for powerful principles to guide you in building strong relationships, enviable work habits, and unbelievable personal growth? Then you're at the right site!
In The Encouragement Express you'll discover awesome lessons hidden in objects that you use daily. You'll meet fascinating people from the past who invented these often overlooked creations.
I'll give you a Principle, a Plan, a Positive Approach Going Forward, and a Podcast in each edition.
You'll also get a spiritual Vitamin E(ncouragement) for personal growth, motivational quotes from mouths of the past, a word for the week, and motivational music!
If you want positive, life-building stories to kick-start your week, you'll love The Encouragement Express!
Vitamin E(ncouragement)
Here's your weekly spiritual vitamin!
"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." - Proverbs 3:27
Motivating Mouths
"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."
-Sir Winston Churchill
Word of the Week
Altruism
"Selfless concern for the well-being of others, without care for one's own interests; unselfishness" - Oxford Languages
Moving Music
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