Thomas Edison, one of history’s greatest inventors, left behind a legacy not only of groundbreaking inventions but also of timeless wisdom. His words continue to inspire millions to embrace perseverance, creativity, and hard work. Below are 113 of his most motivational quotes, each a beacon of insight and encouragement. These quotes capture the essence of Edison’s philosophy and serve as a powerful reminder that success is within reach if we dare to try and try again.
113 Thomas Edison Inspirational Quotes to Ignite Your Drive
1. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
2. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
3. “We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
4. “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.”
5. “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”
6. “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
7. “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
8. “When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this – you haven’t.”
9. “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.”
10. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
11. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”
12. “There is no substitute for hard work.”
13. “What you are will show in what you do.”
14. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
15. “Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.”
16. “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”
17. “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.”
18. “I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.”
19. “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
20. “I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”
21. “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.”
22. “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
23. “Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”
24. “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.”
25. “Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”
26. “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!”
27. “The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.”
28. “There’s a way to do it better – find it.”
29. “Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have.”
30. “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.”
31. “The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”
32. “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”
33. “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”
34. “Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”
35. “Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work.”
36. “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.”
37. “There is far more opportunity than there is ability.”
38. “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.”
39. “When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes.”
40. “I start where the last man left off.”
41. “Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
42. “I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and invent it.”
43. “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.”
44. “Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.”
45. “I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.”
46. “The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.”
47. “All progress, all success, springs from thinking.”
48. “Fools call wise men fools. A wise man never calls any man a fool.”
49. “Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge.”
50. “The world owes nothing to any man, but every man owes something to the world.”
51. “I can’t recall a single problem in my life, of any sort, that I ever started on that I didn’t solve, or prove that I couldn’t solve it. I never let up, until I had done everything that I could think of, no matter how absurd it might seem as a means to the end I was after.”
52. “I don’t know anything about mathematics; can’t even do proportion. But I can hire all the good mathematicians I need for fifteen dollars a week.”
53. “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.”
54. “Hard work and for ever sticking to a thing till it’s done, are the main things an inventor needs.”
55. “I have tried a million schemes that will not work. I know everything that is no good.”
56. “Two per cent. is genius, and ninety-eight per cent. is hard work.”
57. “What progress individuals could make, and what progress the world would make, if thinking were given proper consideration!”
58. “I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent. My main purpose in life is to make money so that I can afford to go on creating more inventions.”
59. “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”
60. “There are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”
61. “I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”
62. “I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing.”
63. “When I have finally decided that a result is worth getting, I go ahead on it and make trial after trial until it comes.”
64. “The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.”
65. “Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
66. “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”
67. “The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”
68. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
69. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
70. “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
71. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”
72. “There is no substitute for hard work.”
73. “What you are will show in what you do.”
74. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
75. “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.”
76. “Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress.”
77. “Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous.”
78. “Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.”
79. “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”
80. “Being busy does not always mean real work.”
81. “I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.”
82. “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
83. “I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and invent it.”
84. “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.”
85. “Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results.”
86. “I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.”
87. “The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.”
88. “All progress, all success, springs from thinking.”
89. “Fools call wise men fools. A wise man never calls any man a fool.”
90. “Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge.”
91. “The world owes nothing to any man, but every man owes something to the world.”
92. “I can’t recall a single problem in my life, of any sort, that I ever started on that I didn’t solve.”
93. “I don’t know anything about mathematics; can’t even do proportion.”
94. “I am more of a sponge than an inventor. I absorb ideas from every source.”
95. “Hard work and for ever sticking to a thing till it’s done, are the main things an inventor needs.”
96. “Two per cent. is genius, and ninety-eight per cent. is hard work.”
97. “What progress individuals could make, and what progress the world would make, if thinking were given proper consideration!”
98. “I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent.”
99. “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”
100. “There are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”
101. “I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”
102. “I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing.”
103. “When I have finally decided that a result is worth getting, I go ahead on it and make trial after trial until it comes.”
104. “The chief function of the body is to carry the brain around.”
105. “Great ideas originate in the muscles.”
106. “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”
107. “The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”
108. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
109. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
110. “If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
111. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”
112. “There is no substitute for hard work.”
113. “What you are will show in what you do.”
Conclusion
Thomas Edison’s quotes emphasize the power of persistence, the value of hard work, and the importance of creative thinking. His belief that genius is largely perspiration rather than inspiration reminds us that success is earned through relentless effort and resilience. Edison encourages us to embrace failure as a step toward success, to seek opportunity in hard work, and to never give up, no matter how many times we fail. These inspirational quotes continue to motivate individuals to push boundaries and realize their full potential.
