Background Image
...
The Biggest Failure Of Man Is That He Gives Up Before He Realizes How Close He Was To Success.
-Thomas A. Edison
...
Please Wait....
Translating....

The Biggest Failure Of

Thomas A. Edison
...
The Biggest Failure Of Man Is That He Gives Up Before He Realizes How Close He Was To Success.

Understanding the Quote: "the biggest failure of man is that he gives up before he..."

This quote by Thomas A. Edison reflects deeply on the theme of sports. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Sports, Giving Up, Men, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Thomas A. Edison interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Thomas A. Edison

Thomas A. Edison is celebrated for insightful thoughts on sports and giving up. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 7
Topic
Sports
Giving Up
Men
More From Thomas A. Edison
Failure Is The Most Effective Technique To Optimize Strategic Planning, Implementation And Processes.
Technique
Planning
Process
Because Ideas Have To Be Original Only With Regard To Their Adaptation To The Problem At Hand, I Am Always Extremely Interested In How Others Have Used Used Them.
Motivational
Hands
Ideas
I Am 67, But I'm Not Too Old To Make A Fresh Start.
Life
Motivational
Fresh Start
Everything Comes To Those Who Hustle While They Wait.
Sports
Encouragement
Accomplishment
There Is No Substitute For Hard Work.
Motivational
Perseverance
Morning
Success Depends On How Many Experiments You Can Fit Into 24 Hours
Fit
Hours
Experiments
I Will Not Say I Failed 1000 Times, I Will Say That I Discovered There Are 1000 Ways That Can Cause Failure
Way
Causes
Perhaps Dandruff Is The Excreta Of The Mind — The Quantity Of This Material Being Directly Proportional To The Amount Of Reading One Indulges In. A Book On German Metaphysics Would Thus Easily Ruin A Dress Suit.
Book
Reading
Indulge In
Just Because Something Doesn't Do What You Planned It To Do Doesn't Mean It's Useless.
Positive
Mean Girls
Funny Inspirational
Most Of My Ideas Belonged To Other People Who Never Bothered To Develop Them.
Ideas
People
Bothered
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
Trying
Doe
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.
Spiritual
Discovery
Miracle
I Think That Ingersoll Had All The Attributes Of A Perfect Man, And, In My Opinion, No Finer Personality Ever Existed. Judging From The Past, I Cannot Help Thinking That The Intention Of The Supreme Intelligence That Rules The World Is To Ultimately Make Such A Type Of Man Universal.
Past
Men
Thinking
A Good Intention, With A Bad Approach, Often Leads To A Poor Result.
Good Intentions
Poor
Results
I Believe That The Science Of Chemistry Alone Almost Proves The Existence Of An Intelligent Creator.
Inspirational
Motivational
Believe
Accomplishing Something Provides The Only Real Satisfaction In Life.
Real
Satisfaction In Life
Satisfaction
It Is The Best Book Ever Written On The Subject. There Is Nothing Like It!
Book
Religion
Atheism
Opportunity Is Missed By Most People Because It Is Dressed In Overalls And Looks Like Work.
Funny
Life
Motivational
I Was Always Afraid Of Things That Worked The First Time. Long Experience Proved That There Were Great Drawbacks Found Generally Before They Could Be Got Commercial; But Here Was Something There Was No Doubt Of.
Success
Science
Long
The Three Things That Are Most Essential To Achievement Are Common Sense, Hard Work And Stick-to-it-iv-ness... Unfortunately, Many Of Life's Failures Are Experienced By People Who Did Not Realize How Close They Were To Success When They Gave Up. 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.
Hard Work
Adventure
Ideas
The Most Necessary Task Of Civilization Is To Teach People How To Think. It Should Be The Primary Purpose Of Our Public Schools. The Mind Of A Child Is Naturally Active, It Develops Through Exercise. Give A Child Plenty Of Exercise, For Body And Brain. The Trouble With Our Way Of Educating Is That It Does Not Give Elasticity To The Mind. It Casts The Brain Into A Mold. It Insists That The Child Must Accept. It Does Not Encourage Original Thought Or Reasoning, And It Lays More Stress On Memory Than Observation.
Children
Memories
Stress
Interest Is The Invention Of Satan.
Satan
Invention
Interest
The Value Of A Good Idea Is In Using It.
Ideas
Good Ideas
Values
The Trouble With Most People Is That They Quit Before They Start.
Thinking
People
Quitting
None Of My Inventions Came By Accident. I See A Worthwhile Need To Be Met And I Make Trial After Trial Until It Comes. What It Boils Down To Is One Per Cent Inspiration And Ninety-nine Per Cent Perspiration.
Inspiration
Ninety Nine
Needs
The Roots Of Tobacco Plants Must Go Clear Through To Hell. Satan's Principal Agent Dyspepsia Must Have Charge Of This Branch Of The Vegetable Kingdom.
Vegetables
Roots
Agents
I Never Quit Until I Get What I Want.
Want
Never Quit
Quitting
The Money One Gets For Selling One's Soul Is Always Spent In Deadening One's Conscience, So The Net Gain At The End Of A Lifetime Is No Greater Than If The Diabolic Bargain Had Not Been Struck.
Animal
Soul
Gains
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!
Faith
Courage
Father
Nobody Knows Whether Our Personalities Pass On To Another Existence Or Sphere, But If We Can Evolve An Instrument So Delicate To Be Manipulated By Our Personality As It Survives In The Next Life Such An Instrument Ought To Record Something.
Personality
Records
Next
My Mother Was The Making Of Me. She Was So True And So Sure Of Me, I Felt That I Had Someone To Live For - Someone I Must Not Disappoint. The Memory Of My Mother Will Always Be A Blessing To Me.
Mom
Mother
Appreciation
When We Learn How To Store Electricity, We Will Cease Being Apes Ourselves; Until Then We Are Tailless Orangutans. You See, We Should Utilize Natural Forces And Thus Get All Of Our Power. Sunshine Is A Form Of Energy, And The Winds And The Tides Are Manifestations Of Energy. Do We Use Them? Oh, No! We Burn Up Wood And Coal, As Renters Burn Up The Front Fence For Fuel. We Live Like Squatters, Not As If We Owned The Property.
Sunshine
Wind
Energy
It Is Very Beautiful Over There. (last Words)
Beautiful
Lasts
Last Words
I Have Friends In Overalls Whose Friendship I Would Not Swap For The Favor Of The Kings Of The World.
Inspirational
Friendship
Positive
Results! Why, Man, I Have Gotten A Lot Of Results. I Know Several Thousand Things That Won't Work.
Motivational
Education
Work
Mr. Edison Worked Endlessly On A Problem, Using The Method Of Elimination. If A Person Asked Him If He Were Discouraged Because So Many Attempts Proved Unavailing, He Would Say, "no, I Am Not Discouraged, Because Every Wrong Attempt Discarded Is Another Step Forward.".
Steps
Problem
Discouraged
The Injurious Agent In Cigarettes Comes Principally From The Burning Paper Wrapper. The Substance Thereby Formed Is Called "acrolein." It Has A Violent Action On The Nerve Centers, Producing Degeneration Of The Cells Of The Brain, Which Is Quite Rapid Among Boys. Unlike Most Narcotics, This Degeneration Is Permanent And Uncontrollable. I Employ No Person Who Smokes Cigarettes.
Science
Boys
Cells
I Am More Of A Sponge Than An Inventor. I Absorb Ideas From Every Source. I Take Half-matured Schemes For Mechanical Development And Make Them Practical. I Am A Sort Of A Middleman Between The Long-haired And Impractical Inventor And The Hard-headed Business Man Who Measures All Things In Terms Of Dollars And Cents. My Principal Business Is Giving Commercial Value To The Brilliant But Misdirected Ideas Of Others.
Men
Ideas
Long
When There's No Experimenting There's No Progress. Stop Experimenting And You Go Backward. If Anything Goes Wrong, Experiment Until You Get To The Very Bottom Of The Trouble.
Progress
Anything Goes
Trouble
The Perils Of Overwork Are Slight Compared With The Dangers Of Inactivity.
Danger
Peril
Inactivity
Ideas Without Execution Are Hallucinations.
Ideas
Hallucinations
Execution
I Start Where The Last Man Left Off.
Inspirational
Positive
Men
First Be Sure A Thing Is Wanted Or Needed, Then Go Ahead.
Firsts
Needed
Wanted
I Consider Paine Our Greatest Political Thinker. As We Have Not Advanced, And Perhaps Never Shall Advance, Beyond The Declaration And Constitution, So Paine Has Had No Successors Who Extended His Principles.
Political
Principles
Constitution
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.
Spiritual
Infinite Intelligence
Law
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.
Inspirational
Motivational
Success
The Secret Of Success Is Focus Of Purpose.
Focus
Secret
Purpose
Because I Readily Absorb Ideas From Every Source - Frequently Starting Where The Last Person Left Off - I Never Pick Up An Item Without Thinking Of How I Might Improve It.
Motivational
Thinking
Ideas
First, Study The Present Construction. Second, Ask For All Past Experiences ...study And Read Everything You Can On The Subject.
Past
Firsts
Study
The Bible Of Nature Is The Best Damn Bible In The World. Its Laws Are Perfect And Grand, And All The Prayers In The World Can't Change Them. There Is Intelligence And Law In This World, And There May Be Supreme Intelligence And Law, But So Far As The Religion Of The Day Is Concerned, It Is All A Damned Fake.
Prayer
Law
Perfect
Continued Innovation Is The Best Way To Beat The Competition.
Competition
Innovation
Way
Every Wrong Attempt Discarded Is Another Step Forward
Perseverance
Determination
Failure
For Faith, As Well Intentioned As It May Be, Must Be Built On Facts, Not Fiction - Faith In Fiction Is A Damnable False Hope.
Religious
Fiction
May
I Know Of Over 3,000 Ways [that] A Light Bulb Does Not Work.
Light
Doe
Way
The Three Things That Are Most Essential To Achievement Are Common Sense, Hard Work And Stick-to-it-iv-ness.
Motivational
Hard Work
Persistence
Success Is Based On Imagination Plus Ambition And The Will To Work.
Ambition
Imagination
Plus
When I Have Eliminated The Ways That Will Not Work, I Will Find The Way That Will Work.
Way
Martial Arts
Fish Seem To Be Rather Conservative Around This Bay, One Seldom Catches Enough To Form The Fundamental Basis For A Lie. Dante Left Out One Of The Torments Of Hades — I Could Imagine A Doomed Mortal Made To Untangle Wet Fish Lines Forever. Everybody Lost Patience At The Stupidity Of The Fish In Not Coming Forward Promptly To Be Murdered.
Lying
Fishing
Stupidity
If I Could Solve All The Problems Myself, I Would.
Teamwork
Team Work
Collaboration
Everything Comes To Him Who Hustles While He Waits.
Inspirational
Motivational
Positive
The Stomach Is The Only Part Of Man Which Can Be Fully Satisfied. The Yearning Of Man's Brain For New Knowledge And Experience And For More Pleasant And Comfortable Surroundings Never Can Be Completely Met. It Is An Appetite Which Cannot Be Appeased.
Men
Brain
Surroundings
The Biggest Failure Of Man Is That He Gives Up Before He Realizes How Close He Was To Success.
Sports
Giving Up
Men
Most Of The Exercise I Get Is From Standing And Walking Around Laboratory Tables All Day. I Derive More Benefit And Entertainment From This Than Some Of My Friends And Competitors Get From Playing Games Like Golf.
Motivational
Exercise
Golf
I Have Not Failed. I Have Successfully Discovered 1200 Ideas That Don't Work.
Ideas
Being Positive
Genius Is Not Inspired. Inspiration Is Perspiration.
Inspiration
Hard Work
Science
The Dove Is My Emblem.
Technology
Dove
Emblems
I Have Better Use For My Brain Than To Poison It With Alcohol. To Put Alcohol In The Human Brain Is Like Putting Sand In The Bearings Of An Engine.
Alcohol
Brain
Poison
The Radio Craze Will Die Out In Time.
Radio
Craze
Dies
I Never View Mistakes As Failures. They Are Simply Opportunities To Find Out What Doesn't Work.
Mistake
Failure
Opportunity
In 'common Sense' Paine Flared Forth With A Document So Powerful That The Revolution Became Inevitable. Washington Recognized The Difference, And In His Calm Way Said That Matters Never Could Be The Same Again.
Powerful
Differences
Common Sense
Sleep Is Like A Drug. Take Too Much At A Time And It Makes You Dopey. You Lose Time And Opportunities.
Sleep
Opportunity
Drug
I Never Once Made A Discovery ... I Speak Without Exaggeration That I Have Constructed Three Thousand Different Theories In Connection With The Electric Light ... Yet In Only Two Cases Did My Experiments Prove The Truth Of My Theory.
Light
Discovery
Two
It Is The People Who Constitute The Basis Of Government Credit. Why Then Cannot The People Have Benefit Of Their Own Gilt-edge Credit By Receiving Non-interest Bearing Currency-instead Of Bankers Receiving The Benefit Of The People's Credit In Interest-bearing Bonds. If The United States Government Will Adopt This Policy Of Increasing Its National Wealth Without Contributing To The Interest Collector-for The Whole National Debt Is Made Up On Interest Charges-then You Will See An Era Of Progress And Prosperity In This Country Such As Could Never Have Come Otherwise.
Country
Government
People
I Never Did A Day's Work In My Life, It Was All Fun.
Inspirational
Life
Fun
Smoking Too Much Makes Me Nervous. Must Lasso My Natural Tendency To Acquire Such Habits. Holding Heavy Cigar Constantly In My Mouth Has Deformed My Upper Lip, It Has A Sort Of Havana Curl.
Smoking
Curls
Mouths
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 .
Motivational
Believe
Discovery
I Know This World Is Ruled By Infinite Intelligence. It Required Infinite Intelligence To Create It And It Requires Infinite Intelligence To Keep It On Its Course ... It Is Mathematical In Its Precision.
God
Infinite Intelligence
World
An Average American Loves His Family. If He Has Any Love Left Over For Some Other Person, He Generally Selects Mark Twain.
Average
Mark
Persons
There Is Far More Danger In Public Than In Private Monopoly, For When Government Goes Into Business It Can Always Shift Its Losses To The Taxpayers. Government Never Makes Ends Meetand That Is The First Requisite Of Business.
Business
Loss
Government
I Never Pick Up An Item Without Thinking Of How I Might Improve It.
Technology
Thinking
Might
Success Is The Product Of The Severest Kind Of Mental And Physical Application.
Kind
Application
Products
A Diamond Is A Piece Of Coal That Stuck To The Job
Jobs
Coal
Pieces
Absorb Ideas From Every Source.
Ideas
Source
There Is Time For Everything.
Motivational
Time
Peace
Many Of Life's Failures Are People Who Did Not Realize How Close They Were To Success When They Gave Up.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
There's A Way To Do It Better - Find It.
Positive
Business
Creativity
The Beauty Of A Great Idea Lies In The Art Of Using It.
Art
Lying
Ideas
The Memory Of My Mother Will Always Be A Blessing To Me.
Motivational
Mom
Mother
People Are Not Remembered By How Few Times They Fail, But By How Often They Succeed. Every Wrong Step Is Another Step Forward
People
Succeed
Steps
Invention Is 10% Inspiration And 90% Perspiration.
Inspiration
Design
Invention
The Greatest Invention In The World Is The Mind Of A Child.
Children
Imagination
Innovation
Any Large Extension Of The Government Into Business Affairs - No Matter What The Pretense And No Matter How The The Extension Is Labeled - Will Be Bound To Promote Waste And Put A Curb On Our Prosperity And Progress.
Government
Progress
Matter
I Told [kruesi] I Was Going To Record Talking, And Then Have The Machine Talk Back. He Thought It Absurd. However, It Was Finished, The Foil Was Put On; I Then Shouted "mary Had A Little Lamb," Etc. I Adjusted The Reproducer, And The Machine Reproduced It Perfectly. On First Words Spoken On A Phonograph.
Science
Talking
Machines
I Never Did Anything Worth Doing By Accident, Nor Did Any Of My Inventions Come Indirectly Through Accident, Except The Phonograph. No, When I Have, Fully Decided That A Result Is Worth Getting, I Go About It, And Make Trial After Trial, Until It Comes.
Trials
Invention
Anything Worth Doing
I Have Not Failed 10,000 Times. I Have Succeeded In Proving That Those 10,000 Ways Will Not Work.
Inspiring
Success
Business
I Never Failed Once. It Just Happened To Be A 2000-step Process.
Inspirational
Patience
Perseverance
Our Greatest Weakness Lies In Giving Up. The Most Certain Way To Succeed Is Always To Try Just One More Time.
Inspirational
Motivational
Positive
Great Ideas Originate In The Muscles.
Life
Motivation
Work
Our Greatest Weakness Lies In Giving Up.
Inspirational
Wise
Wisdom
In Creating Technology For Ourselves We Created It For The World.
Wisdom
Technology
Creating
I Make More Mistakes Than Anyone Else I Know, And Sooner Or Later, I Patent Most Of Them.
Funny Inspirational
Mistake
Creativity
Genius Defined: Of Inspiration 1% Percent, Of Perspiration, 99%.
Inspiration
Genius
Percent
Invention Is 1% Inspiration And 99% Perspiration
Inspiration
Invention
Perspiration
An Idea Is Something That Won't Work Unless You Do.
Ideas
Be Courageous! Have Faith! Go Forward.
Motivational
Courage
Have Faith
As Danand Ian Over At The Lifestyle Business Podcast Say: Rush To Failure.
Lifestyle
The Endeavor To Change Universal Power By Selfish Supplication I Do Not Believe In.
Selfish
Believe
Religion
A Lawsuit Is The Suicide Of Time.
Suicide
Lawsuit
Genius? Nothing! Sticking To It Is The Genius! ... I've Failed My Way To Success.
Genius
Way
My Way
Until Man Duplicates A Blade Of Grass, Nature Can Laugh At His So-called Scientific Knowledge. Remedies From Chemicals Will Never Stand In Favor Compared With The Products Of Nature, The Living Cell Of The Plant, The Final Result Of The Rays Of The Sun, The Mother Of All Life.
Mother
Health
Men
It Is Remarkable To What Lengths People Will Go To Avoid Thought.
People
Length
Remarkable
I Am Not Overly Impressed By The Great Names And Reputations Of Those Who Might Be Trying To Beat Me To An Invention. It's Their 'ideas' That Appeal To Me. I Am Quite Correctly Described As 'more Of A Sponge Than An Inventor
Names
Ideas
Trying
Never Go To Sleep Without A Request To Your Subconscious.
Sleep
Mind
Subconscious
Baseball Is The Greatest Of American Games. Some Say Football, But It Is My Firm Belief, And It Shall Always Be, That Baseball Has No Superior.
Baseball
Football
Games
Genius? Nothing! Sticking To It Is The Genius! Any Other Bright-minded Fellow Can Accomplish Just As Much If He Will Stick Like Hell And Remember Nothing That's Any Good Works By Itself. You've Got To Make The Damn Thing Work!...i Failed My Way To Success.
Genius
Way
Sticks
To Those Searching For Truth -- Not The Truth Of Dogma And Darkness But The Truth Brought By Reason, Search, Examination, And Inquiry, Discipline Is Required. For Faith, As Well Intentioned As It May Be, Must Be Built On Facts, Not Fiction -- Faith In Fiction Is A Damnable False Hope.
Faith
Discipline
Darkness
The Doctor Of The Future Will No Longer Treat The Human Frame With Drugs, But Rather Will Cure And Prevent Disease With Nutrition.
Motivational
Fitness
Health
Restlessness Is Discontent And Discontent Is The First Necessity Of Progress. Show Me A Thoroughly Satisfied Man And I Will Show You A Failure.
Inspirational
Motivational
Failure
Success Is 90% Perspiration And 10% Inspiration!
Business
Inspiration
Perspiration
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.
Motivational
Positive
Perseverance
I Have Not Failed. I've Just Found 10,000 Foundations And Individual Donors Whose Priorities Don't Align With My Organization's.
Organization
Priorities
Foundation
There Is A Better Way For Everything. Find It.
Inspirational
Way
Better Ways
The Value Of An Idea Lies In The Using Of It.
Business
Good Life
Lying
What A Man's Mind Can Create, Man's Character Can Control.
Character
Angel
Men
After We Had Conducted Thousands Of Experiments On A Certain Project Without Solving The Problem, One Of My Associates, After We Had Conducted The Crowning Experiment And It Had Proved A Failure, Expressed Discouragement And Disgust Over Our Having Failed To Find Out Anything. I Cheerily Assured Him That We Had Learned Something. For We Had Learned For A Certainty That The Thing Couldnt Be Done That Way, And That We Would Have To Try Some Other Way.
Trying
Done
Way
Nineteen Hundred And Three Will Bring Great Advances In Surgery, In The Study Of Bacteria, In The Knowledge Of The Cause And Prevention Of Disease. Medicine Is Played Out. Every New Discovery Of Bacteria Shows Us All The More Convincingly That We Have Been Wrong And That The Million Tons Of Stuff We Have Taken Was All Useless.
Taken
Discovery
Medicine
The Real Measure Of Success Is The Number Of Experiments That Can Be Crowded Into 24 Hours.
Success
Real
Numbers
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.
Time
Loss
Lost Friendship
We Will Make Electricity So Cheap That Only The Rich Will Burn Candles.
Inspirational
Rich
Electricity
I Think Work Is The World's Greatest Fun.
Fun
Thinking
World
There Is Far More Opportunity Than There Is Ability.
Courage
Opportunity
Ability
I Cannot Believe In The Immortality Of The Soul. No, All This Talk Of An Existence For Us, As Individuals, Beyond The Grave Is Wrong. It Is Born Of Our Tenacity Of Life - Our Desire To Go On Living - Our Dread Of Coming To An End.
Atheist
Believe
Soul
I Am Much Less Interested In What Is Called God's Word Than In God's Deeds. All Bibles Are Man-made.
Men
Deeds
Made
Genius Is 1 Percent Inspiration, 99 Percent Perspiration.
Inspirational
Educational
Genius
There Is No Limit To Which A Man Will Not Go To Avoid Thinking.
Men
Thinking
Limits
I Never Pick Up An Item Without Thinking Of How I Might Improve It. I Never Perfected An Invention That I Did Not Think About In Terms Of The Service It Might Give Others. I Want To Save And Advance Human Life, Not Destroy It. I Am Proud Of The Fact That I Never Invented Weapons To Kill. The Dove Is My Emblem.
Technology
Thinking
Giving
The United States, And Other Advanced Nations, Will Someday Be Able To Produce Instruments Of Death So Terrible The World Will Be In Abject Terror Of Itself And Its Ability To End Civilization.... Such War-making Weapons Should Be Developed - But Only For Purposes Of Discovery And Experimentation
Motivational
War
Discovery
I Didn't Fail 1000 Times. The Light Bulb Was An Invention With 1000 Steps.
Light
Steps
Self Discipline
There Will One Day Spring From The Brain Of Science A Machine Or Force So Fearful In Its Potentialities, So Absolutely Terrifying, That Even Man, The Fighter, Who Will Dare Torture And Death In Order To Inflict Torture And Death, Will Be Appalled, And So Abandon War Forever.
Peace
Fear
Spring
The Successful Person Makes A Habit Of Doing What The Failing Person Doesn't Like To Do.
Success
Commitment
Action
Many A Person Who Could Not Comprehend Rousseau, And Would Be Puzzled By Montesquieu, Could Understand Paine As An Open Book. He Wrote With A Clarity, A Sharpness Of Outline And Exactness Of Speech That Even A Schoolboy Should Be Able To Grasp.
Book
Would Be
Speech
There Is No Subsitute For Hard Work.
Hard Work
Hard
I Am Long On Ideas, But Short On Time. I Expect To Live To Be Only About A Hundred.
Inspirational
Life
Birthday
The Only Thing I Use My Body For Is To Carry My Brain Around.
Humor
Brain
Use
When I Have Fully Decided That A Result Is Worth Getting I Go Ahead Of It And Make Trial After Trial Until It Comes.
Inspirational
Perseverance
Life Lesson
I Have Determined That There Is No Market For Talking Pictures
Inspiration
Talking
Determined
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.
Inspirational
Motivational
Sleep
Maturity Is Often More Absurd Than Youth And Very Frequently Is Most Unjust To Youth.
Time
Maturity
Insightful
They Say President Wilson Has Blundered. Perhaps He Has, But I Notice He Usually Blunders Forward.
Failure
President
Wilson
If I Had Not Had So Much Ambition And Not Tried To Do So Many Things, I Probably Would Have Been Happier, But Less Useful.
Ambition
Has Beens
Ifs
I Start Where The Last Man Left Off. What The Mind Of Man Can Conceive And Believe, The Mind Of A Man Can Achieve.
Believe
Men
Mind
A Genius Is A Talented Person Who Does His Homework.
Ballet
Doe
Genius
When You Have Exhausted All Possibilities, Remember This - You Haven't.
Inspirational
Karma
Running
The Strength Of The Constitution, Lies In The Will Of The People To Defend It.
Lying
People
Liberty
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.
Motivational
Suicidal
Men
Failure Is Really A Matter Of Conceit. People Don't Work Hard Because, In Their Conceit, They Imagine They'll Succeed Without Ever Making An Effort. Most People Believe That They'll Wake Up Some Day And Find Themselves Rich. Actually, They've Got It Half Right, Because Eventually They Do Wake Up.
Believe
Hard Work
People
The Very First Thing An Executive Must Have Is A Fine Memory. Of Course It Does Not Follow That A Man With A Fine Memory Is Necessarily A Fine Executive. But If He Has The Memory He Has The First Qualification, And If He Has Not The Memory Nothing Else Matters.
Memories
Men
Doe
A Man’s Best Friend Is A Good Wife.
Inspirational
Men
Wife
Show Me A Thoroughly Satisfied Man - And I Will Show You A Failure.
Success
Educational
Failure
Fooling Around With Alternating Currents Is Just A Waste Of Time. Nobody Will Use It, Ever. It's Too Dangerous . . . It Could Kill A Man As Quick As A Bolt Of Lightning. Direct Current Is Safe.
Dream
Men
Safe
Never Be Discouraged, Because Every Wrong Turn Attempt, When Left Behind You, Is Another Step Forward Taking You Closer To Your Goals.
Powerful
Goal
Behind You
To Invent, You Need A Good Imagination And A Pile Of Junk.
Inspirational
Science
Imagination Creativity
I Love Great Music And Art, But I Think 'cubist' Songs And Paintings Are Hideous.
Motivational
Song
Art
The Brain Can Be Developed Just The Same As The Muscles Can Be Developed, If On Will Only Take The Pains To Train The Mind To Think.
Pain
Thinking
Brain
Remember, Life Is All What You Focus On. Learn Lessons And Keep Moving Forward Towards Your Goals And Dreams... "i Have Not Failed. I've Just Found 10,000 Ways That Won't Work."
Dream
Moving
Goal
Surprises And Reverses Can Serve As An Incentive For Great Accomplishment. There Are No Rules Here, We're Just Trying To Accomplish Something.
Motivational
Accomplishment
Trying
Even Though I Am Nearly Deaf, I Seem To Be Gifted With A Kind Of Inner Hearing Which Enables Me To Detect Sounds And Noises Which The Ordinary Person Does Not Hear.
Motivational
Sound
Ordinary
I Do Not Believe Any Type Of Religion Should Ever Be Introduced Into The Public Schools Of The United States.
Atheist
Believe
School
You Can't Realize Your Dreams Unless You Have One To Begin With.
Dream
Goal
Realizing
The Best Thinking Has Been Done In Solitude. The Worst Has Been Done In Turmoil.
Thinking
Solitude
Innovation
Youth Doesn't Take Advice.
Advice
Youth
Genius Is One Percent Inspiration, Ninety-nine Percent Perspiration.
Inspirational
Motivational
Positive
My Success Is Due More To My Ability To Work Continuously On One Thing Without Stopping Than To Any Other Single Quality.
Quality
Stopping
Ability
Of The 200 Light Bulbs That Didn't Work, Every Failure Told Me Something That I Was Able To Incorporate Into The Next Attempt.
Light
Able
Next
I Believe That The Motion Picture Is Destined To Revolutionize Our Educational System And That In A Few Years It Will Supplant Largely, If Not Entirely, The Use Of Textbooks.
Educational
Believe
Years
I've Realized That Most Of My Best Ideas Have Followed A Good Night's Sleep.
Good Night
Sleep
Night
Consider Data Without Prejudice.
Data
Prejudice
So Far As The Religion Of The Day Is Concerned, It Is A Damned Fake ... Religion Is All Bunk.
Atheist
If There Is A God
Fake
I Remember That I Was Never Able To Get Along At School. I Was At The Foot Of The Class.
Education
School
Class
I Failed My Way To Success.
Inspirational
Motivational
Fear
Five Percent Of The People Think; Ten Percent Of The People Think They Think; And The Other Eighty-five Percent Would Rather Die Than Think.
Thinking
People
Willful Ignorance
Each Time You Fail, You Have Eliminated Another Wrong Option.
Failure
Failing
Work While Others Are Wishing.
Motivational
Work
Stay Positive
Nature Is Truly Wonderful. Only Man Is Truly Foul.
Men
Wonderful
Foul
The Reason A Lot Of People Do Not Recognize Opportunity Is Because It Usually Goes Around Wearing Overalls Looking Like Hard Work.
Success
Hard Work
Opportunity
My Main Purpose In Life Is To Make Money So I Can Afford To Go On Creating More Inventions.
Motivational
Creating
Purpose
The Entity That Gives Life And Motion To The Human Body Is Finer Still And Lies Infinitely Beyond The Reach Of Our Finest Scientific Instruments. When This Entity Deserts The Body, The Body Is Like A Ship Without A Rudder - Deserted, Motionless, Dead.
Lying
Giving
Soul
I Am Proud Of The Fact That I Never Invented Weapons To Kill.
Atheism
Proud
Weapons
I Do Not Believe In The God Of The Theologians; But That There Is A Supreme Intelligence I Do Not Doubt.
God
Believe
Doubt
Time Is Really The Only Capital That Any Human Being Has, And The Only Thing He Can't Afford To Lose.
Time
Humans
Human Beings
I Never Knew I Had An Inventive Talent Until Phrenology Told Me So. I Was A Stranger To Myself Until Then!
Phrenology
Talent
Stranger
I Am So Deaf I Am Debarred From Hearing All The Time Articulation And Have To Depend On The Judgment Of Others.
Hearing
Judgment
Deaf
I Did Not Fail Two Thousand Times. I Merely Found Two Thousand Ways Not To Make A Lightbulb.
Two
Way
Failing
Genius Is One Percent Inspiration And Ninety-nine Percent Perspiration. As A Result, A Genius Is Often A Talented Person Who Has Simply Done All Of His Homework.
Inspirational
Motivational
Ninety Nine
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.
Inspirational
Motivational
Real
Let The Public Throw Bouquets To The Inventors And In Time We Will All Be Happy.
Bouquets
Inventor
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.
Motivational
Thinking
Littles
A Failure Teaches You That Something Can't Be Done-that Way.
Failure
Done
Way
Friendship Is The Heaven Of Life.
Heaven
The Three Great Essentials To Achieve Anything Worth While Are: Hard Work, Stick-to-itiveness, And Common Sense.
Success
Work
Common Sense
Trending Author
Ralph Kiner
Dennis Ritchie
Tony Kushner
A. P. Herbert
Nicole Kidman
Garson Kanin
Category
Information