Opportunity is missed by most people because
it's dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof
of utility, and utility is success.
As a cure for worrying, work is far better than whiskey. I always
found that, if I began to worry, the best thing I could do was focus
upon doing something useful and then work very hard at it. Soon,
I would forget what was troubling me.
Be courageous! Have faith! Go Forward!
Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always
America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be
brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward!
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work
is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there
must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest
purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
Discontent is the first necessity of progress.
Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.
Faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts,
not fiction--faith in fiction is a damnable false hope.
From his neck down a man is worth a couple of dollars a day, from
his neck up he is worth anything that his brain can produce.
Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.
Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.
Accordingly, a 'genius' is often merely a talented person who has
done all of his or her homework."
Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something.
I am both pleased but astonished by the fact that mankind has not
yet begun to use all the means and devices that are available for
destruction. I hope that such weapons are never manufactured in
quantity.
I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is
another step forward.
I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill.
I believe that the science of chemistry alone almost proves the
existence of an intelligent creator.
I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that
precedes what the world calls success.
I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets
there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing.
I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for
the favor of the kings of the world.
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
I know this world is ruled by infinite intelligence. Everything
that surrounds us- everything that exists - proves that there are
infinite laws behind it. There can be no denying this fact. It is
mathematical in its precision.
I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun.
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions
come by accident; they came by work.
I never did anything worth doing entirely by accident.... Almost
none of my inventions were derived in that manner. They were achieved
by having trained myself to be analytical and to endure and tolerate
hard work.
I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms
of the service it might give others... I find out what the world
needs, then I proceed to invent.
I readily absorb ideas from every source, frequently starting where
the last person left off.
If parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave
them an estate of incalculable value.
If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally
astound ourselves.
Inspiration can be found in a pile of junk. Sometimes, you can
put it together with a good imagination and invent something.
It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people
to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.
Its obvious that we don't know one millionth of one percent about
anything.
Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't
mean it's useless.
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close
they were to success when they gave up.
Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is
most unjust to youth.
Most of the exercise I get is from standing and walking all day
from one laboratory table to another. I derive more benefit and
entertainment from this than some of my friends and competitors
get from playing games like golf.
Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point
where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's
not the place to become discouraged.
Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of
all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we
are still savages.
One might think that the money value of an invention constitutes
its reward to the man who loves his work. But... I continue to find
my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes
what the world calls success.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls
and looks like work.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to
succeed is always to try just one more time.
Our schools are not teaching students to think. It is astonishing
how many young people have difficulty in putting their brains definitely
and systematically to work....
Personally, I enjoy working about 18 hours a day. Besides the short
catnaps I take each day, I average about four to five hours of sleep
per night.
Pretty much everything will come to him who hustles while he waits.
I believe that restlessness is discontent, and discontent is merely
the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied
man and I will show you a failure.
Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.
Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity
of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show
you a failure.
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several
thousand things that won't work.
Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.
Someday, man will harness the rise and fall of the tides, imprison
the power of the sun, and release atomic power.
Surprises and reverses can serve as an incentive for great accomplishment.
There are no rules here, we're just trying to accomplish something.
The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been
done in turmoil.
The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.
The memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me.
The only time I really become discouraged is when I think of all
the things I would like to do and the little time I have in which
to do them.
The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because
it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.
The thing I lose patience with the most is the clock. Its hands
move too fast.
The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are:
Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.
The value of an idea lies in the using of it.
There is far more opportunity than there is ability.
There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor
of thinking.
There is no substitute for hard work.
There's a way to do it better - find it.
They say President Wilson has blundered. Perhaps he has, but I
notice he usually blunders forward.
To have a great idea, have a lot of them.
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
To my mind the old masters are not art; their value is in their
scarcity.
Unfortunately, there seems to be far more opportunity out there
than ability.... We should remember that good fortune often happens
when opportunity meets with preparation.
Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his
so-called scientific knowledge.
Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person
who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before
him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless.
We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.
We have merely scratched the surface of the store of knowledge
which will come to us. I believe that we are now, a-tremble on the
verge of vast discoveries - discoveries so wondrously important
they will upset the present trend of human thought and start it
along completely new lines.
What a man's mind can create, man's character can control.
What you are will show in what you do.
Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have.
Thomas A. Edison Quotes
|
