“A genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.”
“A good intention with a bad approach often leads to a poor result.”
“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.”
“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!”
“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.”
“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration.”
“Good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.”
“Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”
“I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.”
“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.”
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”
“I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”
“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”
“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.”
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
“Maturity is often more absurd than youth and very frequently is most unjust to youth.”
“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.”
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
“Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress.”
“The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.”
“The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary.”
“The man who doesn’t make up his mind to cultivate the habit of thinking misses the greatest pleasure in life.”
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are hard work, stick-to-itiveness, and common sense.”
“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”
“There is far more opportunity than there is ability.”
“There is no substitute for hard work.”
“There’s a way to do it better – find it.”
“To do much clear thinking a person must arrange for regular periods of solitude when they can concentrate and indulge the imagination without distraction.”
“To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
“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.”
“We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.”
“What you are will show in what you do.”
“When I have finally decided that a result is worth getting, I go ahead on it and make trial after trial until it comes.”
“When two men in a business always agree, one of them is unnecessary.”
“Your worth consists in what you are and not in what you have.”