Quotes by Thomas A. Edison

“We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work”

“I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.”

“Nature is what we know. We do not know the gods of religions. And nature is not kind, or merciful, or loving. If God made me the fabled God of the three qualities of which I spoke: mercy, kindness...”

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this - you haven't.”

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”

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

“Study, along the lines which the theologies have mapped, will never lead us to discovery of the fundamental facts of our existence. That goal must be attained by means of exact science and can only...”

“...What I have denied and what my reason compels me to deny, is the existence of a Being throned above us as a god, directing our mundane affairs in detail, regarding us as individuals, punishing u...”

“People who will not turn a shovel full of dirt on the project nor contribute a pound of material, will collect more money from the United States than will the People who supply all the material and...”

“Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

“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 exercis...”

“It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.”

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”

“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.”

“Negative results are just what I want. Theyre 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 dont.”

“I haven't failed,I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

“I told [John 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'...”

“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.”