Author

Thomas A. Edison

44 quotations

About Thomas A. Edison

Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He grew up in Michigan with little formal schooling and began working at a young age. He became deaf as a child and learned through books and tinkering. As a railroad telegrapher, he spent much of his time inventing improvements to telegraph systems. By the age of 22, he had sold a few of his early inventions and moved to New York City to focus on engineering. He had three children with Mary, his first wife, but Edison was neglectful.…

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Topics: Work Success Business Failure Great Time
I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success.
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.
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 …
It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident they came by work.
The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.
The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.

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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 pur…
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
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…
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.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
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 …
Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
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…
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 …
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.