Story-Teller
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BILL LEAR FLIES HIGH
“Every real accomplishment first begins as a dream.”
—Alan C. Elliott
William P. Lear loved Horatio Alger tales, stories that told of people who rose from obscurity and poverty to wealth and fame. Lear wanted to be an inventor; however, he had few resources to buy the tools and parts needed to realize his dream. He once told an interviewer that at age twelve he resolved “first to make enough money so I’d never be stopped from finishing anything.” After studying engineering during a stint in the armed forces, Lear landed a job with an Illinois electronics firm. In the late 1920s he became a design engineer at Galvin Manufacturing Company (Motorola), a maker of radio chassis. It was there that Lear developed his first important invention, the automobile radio. He enjoyed sufficient success to acquire his own airplane. Aviation was still in its infancy, and Lear was sure that was a ripe area for his inventive powers. He soon found that navigating an airplane around the country was a very crude process—one simply followed known landmarks. To improve navigation, Lear invented the “Learoscope,” an electronic device that allowed an aircraft to be navigated by the use of radio signals.
In 1939 Lear formed Lear, Inc., a producer of aircraft instruments, which was a highly successful enterprise. His next dream was to build a small general aviation jet, but his board of directors voted down the project as unfeasible. Lear sold his 23 percent interest in the company and formed a new enterprise, Lear Jet, Inc. His new jet took to the skies in 1963 and was an immediate success.
CONSIDER THIS: Have you taken the time to dream? Are you taking the initiative to follow your dreams?
Submitted by Richard
“Every real accomplishment first begins as a dream.”
—Alan C. Elliott
William P. Lear loved Horatio Alger tales, stories that told of people who rose from obscurity and poverty to wealth and fame. Lear wanted to be an inventor; however, he had few resources to buy the tools and parts needed to realize his dream. He once told an interviewer that at age twelve he resolved “first to make enough money so I’d never be stopped from finishing anything.” After studying engineering during a stint in the armed forces, Lear landed a job with an Illinois electronics firm. In the late 1920s he became a design engineer at Galvin Manufacturing Company (Motorola), a maker of radio chassis. It was there that Lear developed his first important invention, the automobile radio. He enjoyed sufficient success to acquire his own airplane. Aviation was still in its infancy, and Lear was sure that was a ripe area for his inventive powers. He soon found that navigating an airplane around the country was a very crude process—one simply followed known landmarks. To improve navigation, Lear invented the “Learoscope,” an electronic device that allowed an aircraft to be navigated by the use of radio signals.
In 1939 Lear formed Lear, Inc., a producer of aircraft instruments, which was a highly successful enterprise. His next dream was to build a small general aviation jet, but his board of directors voted down the project as unfeasible. Lear sold his 23 percent interest in the company and formed a new enterprise, Lear Jet, Inc. His new jet took to the skies in 1963 and was an immediate success.
CONSIDER THIS: Have you taken the time to dream? Are you taking the initiative to follow your dreams?
Submitted by Richard
