After his stay in debtor’s prison, Charles returned to his loving family without a cent to his name. He sold many of his family’s pos- sessions to put food on the table. Still, he remained focused on the seemingly impossible rubber problem: how to make it stay strong and stretchy no matter the temperature. For the next many years, despite hardships that would break most — moving his family from home to home, endless debt, con- stant charity, more time in debtors’ prisons, and nearly fatally poisoning himself in the lab — Charles never doubted he would succeed. That is to say, he applied his optimism (#6).
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