When two freight trains collided, a young man by the name of George Westinghouse designed a way to avoid a repetition of the accident.

When George explained his idea, railroad executives agreed with Commodore Vanderbilt who exclaimed, “Do you mean to tell me that you expect to stop a train with wind? I have no time to waste on. . .fools!”

Westinghouse was aware of the problem. If the air failed there was no way to stop the train. But what he did was change his framework of reference. He designed heavy springs to hold the train brakes on all the time and an air system to hold the brakes off. If the air failed, the brakes would automatically engage and stop the train.

By looking at the problem from a different viewpoint, Westinghouse perfected the air brake—a system that was adopted by the entire industry.

As the saying goes, “If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always got, and we’ll keep feeling what we’ve always felt.” In other words, if we want to bring about change in our personal life, in our family, in our business, in our church, or in our nation, we need to look at things differently and be prepared to make changes—sometimes drastic changes! Because without change nothing ever changes.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, what things in my life do I need to look at differently and what changes do I need to make today that will make my life more effective for tomorrow? Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 3:13-15 (NLT).