The 80 most famous phrases of Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was a famous inventor born during the year 1847 in a town called West Orange, United States.
Many of Edison's inventions are widely known to all, some examples being the phonograph, the movie camera, or the incandescent light bulb. This inventor was one of the first to implement chain production and teamwork on a large scale, concepts that we implement today in any business or trade.
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Phrases and famous quotes from Thomas Edison
The nicknamed Wizard of Menlo Park is undoubtedly the inventor par excellence and the best known internationally.
Below you will find the 80 most famous phrases of Thomas Edison, perhaps one of the most inspiring men in history.
1. Discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a fully satisfied man and I'll show you a failure.
When we are not happy with our life, we try harder to improve it.
2. We don't know one millionth of one percent of anything.
Indeed, today many things still escape our understanding.
3. Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very often it is more unfair than youth.
As we get older, life can seem a lot more unfair. Life, after all, always follows the same stages.
4. The first requirement for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to a problem, endlessly and tirelessly.
Our perseverance will allow us to achieve success, we must be conscientious in our work.
5. Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Our effort will determine our chances of success, without effort failure is guaranteed.
6. There is a way to make it better; Find it.
Improving what already exists is a good way to invent something new.
7. When you have exhausted all the possibilities, remember this; You have not done it.
There can always be another way to do it, it's up to us to find it.
8. I've never had a day's work in my life. It's all fun.
When we love what we do, work can be a lot of fun. Dedicate yourself to what you are most passionate about.
9. Our schools are not teaching students to think. It's amazing how many young people have a hard time putting their brains to work definitively and systematically.
The American educational system in Edison's time undoubtedly had great weaknesses. Education is a fundamental aspect in the life of any person.
10. There is no substitute for hard work.
Hard work can never be replaced, either it is done or it is not done, simple as that.
11. Just because something doesn't happen the way you planned, doesn't mean it's useless.
We must learn to find the utility of things, it can always have a utility that you had not thought of.
12. People are remembered not by the number of times they fail, but by the number of times they succeed.
Being able to achieve success will help us to fulfill ourselves as individuals, we must pursue our dreams.
13. We're going to make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles.
A great phrase from Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the light bulb and main precursor of electricity.
14. Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the least one can afford to waste or lose.
Time is a very scarce commodity, you never have enough of it. When our time is up, it will never come back.
15. The main function of the body is to accompany the brain.
He brain It is one of the most essential organs that we have as human beings, without it we would not be who we are.
16. We really don't have a lot of data on the subject, and without data, how can we reach any definitive conclusions?
The data can allow us to reach a conclusion, without them it is totally impossible.
17. Personally, I like to work around 18 hours a day. In addition to the short naps I take each day, I average four to five hours of sleep a night.
Many of the great thinkers of all time had some kind of insomnia or sleep disorder in their lives.
18. There is not a resource a man would not go to in order to avoid the real work of thinking.
Thinking for ourselves can be somewhat cumbersome and that is why human beings tend to let themselves be advised by third parties. Leading this lifestyle can be harmful to us over time.
19. The three big essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are: hard work, sticking with it, and common sense.
Hard work, our loved ones and our use of common sense are three factors that can guide us towards a more orderly life.
20. I have never seen the slightest scientific proof for religious ideas of heaven and hell, of an afterlife for people, or of a personal God.
Scientists only believe in what they can see, feel and hear. How can we believe in something that we don't know if it really exists?
21. I do not believe in the God of theologians; but that there is a Supreme Intelligence, I do not doubt.
Edison believed in a superior intelligence, in some kind of entity that with his intelligence ordered the universe in which we live.
22. Nature is really wonderful. Only man is truly dirty.
Nature is incredible, it has exceptional qualities. Unfortunately, man is bent on destroying nature.
23. As a cure for worry, work is better than whiskey.
Work can help us order our ideas, as therapy, work can be very effective.
24. Great ideas originate in the muscles.
When we move, we pump blood and oxygen to our brain, so we can think more clearly.
25. The body is a community made up of its innumerable cells or inhabitants.
The human being is an incredible biological machine, it will take us a long time to fully understand it.
26. There are no rules here; we are trying to achieve something.
In order to achieve success, we must be able to break all the barriers established up to that moment.
27. In my opinion, the old masters are not art; its value is in its scarcity.
When an art is scarce, it will necessarily rise in price, not because of its real value but because of its scarcity.
28. Negative results are just what I want. They are as valuable to me as the positive results. I can't find what works best until I find what doesn't.
Information is power, whether it is positive or negative. It depends on us how useful we give to the information we have.
29. X-rays… I'm afraid of them. I stopped experimenting with them two years ago, when I nearly lost my sight and Dally, my assistant, practically lost the use of both arms.
During its development, x-rays were a completely exotic technology with unknown long-term effects on humans.
30. My mind is incapable of conceiving something like a soul. I may be wrong, and man may have a soul; but I just don't think so. What a soul can be is beyond my comprehension.
The concept of "soul" was something that Thomas Edison simply missed, as a scientist he could not understand it.
31. I am convinced that the body is made up of entities that are intelligent and directed by this Higher Power. When you cut your finger, I think it's the intelligence of these entities that heals the wound. When one is sick, it is the intelligence of these entities that brings about convalescence. Do you know that there are living cells in the body so small that the microscope cannot find them? The entities that give life and soul to the human body are finer and infinitely beyond the reach of our best scientific instruments. When these entities leave the body, the body is like a ship without a rudder: deserted, motionless and dead.
Human biology was something unknown at that time, even today we do not know much of it.
32. I start where the last man left off.
Just because someone hasn't done it doesn't mean we can't do it.
33. Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living things, we are still wild.
The human being must know how to value all the beings of creation, we must cause the minimum possible impact during our existence.
34. Be brave. I have seen many depressions in business. America has always emerged from these, stronger and more prosperous. Be brave like your parents. Have faith. Go forward.
Being brave and persevering will allow us to achieve success in our lives.
35. I find my greatest pleasure, and therefore my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls "success."
Working can be really pleasant when we do it in what we are most passionate about.
36. Value consists of what you are and not what you have.
Wealth does not define who we are, but our values and principles do.
37. I never did anything by chance, nor did any of my inventions come about by accident; They came for work.
In order to achieve any goal we set for ourselves, we must undoubtedly work to achieve it. Work is essential to achieve professional success.
38. Anything that doesn't sell, I don't want to invent it. Your sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.
Edison, after all, was also a great businessman, if something is useful, it will surely sell well.
39. During all those years of experimentation and research, I never made a discovery. All my work was deductive, and the results I got were those of invention, pure and simple.
Following the scientific discoveries of third parties, we can create machines that take advantage of that potential. A discovery becomes real when it is given a utility.
40. Everyone steals in commerce and industry. I've stolen a lot, myself. But I know how to steal! They don't know how to steal!
In order to create great wealth, we must steal in one way or another, either by creating a monopoly or taking advantage of a legal loophole.
41. Those who say it is impossible should not interrupt those of us who are trying.
We must not get carried away by the pessimistic comments of others, we will achieve our goal.
42. A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.
Knowing the path we must take to make an idea come true is something as important as the idea itself.
43. I have normal friends whose friendship would not change for the favor of the kings of the world.
We must keep our lifelong friends, they will always be honest with us.
44. I believe in the existence of a Supreme Intelligence that pervades the Universe.
Something intangible seems to order everything that happens in the universe, Thomas Edison believed in a higher intelligence.
45. The doctor of the future will not give any medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in the human diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.
Knowing how to prevent diseases is the best remedy we can have, currently this practice is widespread among the medical community.
46. The best thoughts have been made in solitude. The worst have been done in agitation.
In order to seriously reflect on something, we must do it alone and in silence.
47. I owe my success to the fact that I never had a watch in my workshop.
In order to achieve something truly transcendental, we must dedicate all the time we need to make it happen.
48. I have not failed. I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.
Failure may not really be failure if we know how to see it from the correct prism.
49. The value of an idea lies in the use of it.
Every great idea must have a practical use in society, if it does not, the idea would not be such a good one.
50. To invent, you need a good imagination and a bunch of rubbish.
We are all capable of inventing something new, if we have enough imagination. Imagination is an incredible capacity of the human being.
51. The opportunity is often missed because she comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.
An unglamorous job can also be exciting, we must not get carried away by a false conception.
52. I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to make it up.
Being able to meet the needs of others can provide us with great wealth.
53. Everything comes to those who hurry while waiting.
Our attitude in life will determine our chances of success.
54. Nature is what we know. We do not know the gods of religions. And nature is not kind, nor merciful, nor loving.
Nature is implacable with all the beings that inhabit it, we should not think that it will be merciful to us.
55. Many of life's failures are from people who don't realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
We must never give up, success may be just around the corner.
56. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The surest way to succeed is always to try one more time.
Perseverance is essential to be able to succeed in life, we must tirelessly pursue our dreams.
57. If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally surprise ourselves.
We do not take advantage of even ten percent of our maximum potential, we are capable of much more than we imagine.
58. What the mind of man can create, the character of man can control.
Man is capable of being very skilled if he really sets his mind to it, we should not put limits on human invention.
59. To have a great idea, have a lot of them.
In order to come up with a relevant idea, we must have many other not so interesting ones. Working on them day after day will help us choose between them.
60. What you are will show in what you do.
Our daily activity determines who we are within society, indeed we are what we do.
61. We must remember that good fortune often occurs when opportunity meets preparation.
In order to be lucky we must be prepared for it, luck undoubtedly favors those who work the most.
62. Five percent of people think; ten percent of people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent preferred to die rather than think.
If we don't stop to think, we certainly won't make the most of our human potential. Thought is a really powerful weapon that we must take advantage of in our lives.
63. Others like to collect stamps; I like to invent: a hobby like any other.
Edison as an inventor, was one of the most prolific in history, an interesting activity that was his greatest passion.
64. I don't want to invent anything that can't be sold.
The well-being of his family was very important to him and in order to ensure it he had to earn money.
65. Almost every man who develops an idea makes it work to the point where it seems impossible and then becomes discouraged. That is not the place to get discouraged.
We must never give up in the search for our purposes, our work and dedication will allow us to reach our goal.
66. I have much more respect for a person with a single idea and who carries it out than for a person who has thousands of ideas and does nothing with them.
Ideas are worthless if we do not fight to make them come true, our actions and not our thoughts really define who we are.
67. When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting, I go ahead and make try after try until it arrives.
Our willpower will be totally necessary to be able to reach our goal, we must not give up.
68. I am proud of the fact that I have never invented weapons to kill.
Thomas Edison was always a man of peace, something that undoubtedly honors him greatly.
69. Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his supposed scientific knowledge.
Even today, man is not able to match the wonders that nature creates with great ease. Nature is really wonderful.
70. Whoever does not resolve to cultivate the habit of thinking misses out on life's greatest pleasure.
Developing our intellect can help us in everything we do in life, we must know how to cultivate and appreciate it. Education is essential to be able to develop our full potential.
71. Charity is a virtue of the heart, not of the hands.
In order to really show our charity, we must know how to give with our hearts. The best thing we can give to another person is our love and affection.
72. Waste is worse than loss. The day will come when all those who claim to be clever will permanently consider the problem of waste. The scope of savings has no limits.
Recycling is essential to ensure our future, without it, the world would become a huge landfill.
73. Every person must decide once in his life if he throws himself to succeed, risking everything, or if he sits down to watch the steps of the winners.
To succeed in life we must take risks, as the saying goes, "who does not risk, does not win".
74. Being busy doesn't always mean real work. The object of all work is production or achievement and unless these end, they must be thought through systems planning, intelligence and honest purpose, as well as a fair amount of sweat, looking like you do it is not that you do it.
For a job to be a real job, it must have an impact on our lives in some positive way. Any job must have production and income.
75. I find out what's wrong with them, and almost always can't do anything about it.
The problems of the world in most cases are beyond our control, perhaps with time the human being can get to correct them.
76. Tomorrow is my exam, but I won't let any piece of paper decide my future.
Thomas Edison wanted to show people what he was capable of, something he certainly did in spades.
77. When a man desires something so badly that he is determined to risk his entire future for one chance, he is sure to win.
Our dedication and effort will allow us to achieve glory, there will be nothing that can stop us if we do not allow it.
78. A man cannot control his beliefs.
Religious beliefs are something that we simply do not control, we believe in them many times without really knowing why.
79. I failed on my way to success.
On certain occasions, this inventor could not make his wonderful ideas come true, science at that time had an easy limit to reach.
80. When churches start to take a rational view of things and stop teaching fables, they will be more effective than they are today.
Edison was not a member of any church, he had his own beliefs and was consistent with them. He believed in a higher intelligence in the universe.
