Thomas A. Edison Quotes

I remember that I was never able to get along at school. I was at the foot of the class.

What a man's mind can create, man's character can control.

I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found out 99 ways not to make one.

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!

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.

This problem, once solved, will be simple.

When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes.

To have a great idea, have a lot of them.

Everything comes to those who hustle while they wait.

Never be discouraged, because every wrong turn attempt, when left behind you, is another step forward taking you closer to your goals.

I start where the last man left off.

Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.

The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.

Fools call wise men fools. A wise man never calls any man a fool.

Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith and go forward.

To get a great idea, come up with lots of them.

Failure is the most effective technique to optimize strategic planning, implementation and processes.

When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.

I do not believe any type of religion should ever be introduced into the public schools of the United States.

The strength of the Constitution, lies in the will of the people to defend it.

Success is based on imagination plus ambition and the will to work.

The man who doesn’t make up his mind to cultivate the habit of thinking misses the greatest pleasure in life.

I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.

Genius defined: of inspiration 1% percent, of perspiration, 99%.

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.

Genius? Nothing! Sticking to it is the genius! ... I've failed my way to success.

There is time for everything.

I am 67, but I'm not too old to make a fresh start.

A failure teaches you that something can't be done-that way.

The greatest discoveries will be along spiritual lines. This is the field where miracles are going to happen. Spiritual power is the greatest underdeveloped power and has the greatest future.

There is much more opportunity than there are people to see it.

I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process.

Accomplishing something provides the only real satisfaction in life.

The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus.

I've realized that most of my best ideas have followed a good night's sleep.

Whatever the mind of man creates, should be controlled by man's character.

The beauty of a great idea lies in the art of using it.

Focus on how the end-user customers perceive the impact of your innovation - rather than on how you, the innovators, perceive it.

We haven't failed. We now know a thousand things that won't work, so we are much closer to finding what will.

I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.

I start where the last man left off. What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of a man can achieve.

Continued innovation is the best way to beat the competition.

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.

There is far more opportunity than there is ability.

They were not failures, they were new found ways of what does not work "I can accept failure,everyonefails at something. But I can't accept not trying

Keep on the lookout for novel ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you're working on.

Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.

The only thing I use my body for is to carry my brain around.

IF PARENTS PASS ENTHUSIASM ALONG TO THEIR CHILDREN, THEY WILL LEAVE THEM AN ESTATE OF INCALCULABLE VALUE

To my mind the old masters are not art; their value is in their scarcity.