Thomas A. Edison

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.

If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

I am a vegetarian as well as a passionate anti-alcoholic, because I can thus make better use of my brain.

Genius is not inspired. Inspiration is perspiration.

I didn't fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1000 steps.

There is no substitute for hard work.

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

Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.

I can never pick up a thing without wishing to improve it.

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

Having a vision for what you want is not enough...Vision without execution is hallucination

Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.

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.

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.

The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.

Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.

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.

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.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

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.

My principal business is giving commercial value to the brilliant - but misdirected - ideas of others.