I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent….
My principal business consists of giving commercial value to the brilliant, but misdirected, ideas of others…. Accordingly, I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.
I readily absorb ideas from every source, frequently starting where the last person left off.
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 them….
A good idea is never lost. Even though its originator or possessor may die without publicizing it, it will someday be reborn in the mind of another….
Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration. Accordingly, a ‘genius’ is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work
Inspiration can be found in a pile of junk. Sometimes, you can put it together with a good imagination and invent something.
Personally, I enjoy working about 18 hours a day. Besides the short catnaps I take each day, I average about four to five hours of sleep per night.
If we all did the things we are really capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves….
Our schools are not teaching students to think. It is astonishing how many young people have difficulty in putting their brains definitely and systematically to work….
The three things that are most essential to achievement are common sense, hard work and stick-to-it-iv-ness…..
I have far more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing….
Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
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.
Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do in the first place doesn’t mean it’s useless….
Surprises and reverses can serve as an incentive for great accomplishment. There are no rules here, we’re just trying to accomplish something.
The only time I really become discouraged is when I think of all the things I would like to do and the little time I have in which to do them.
The thing I lose patience with the most is the clock. Its hands move too fast.
Time is really the only capital that any human being has and the thing that he can least afford to waste or lose…
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.
The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.
Whatever the mind of man creates, should be controlled by man’s character.
I love great music and art, but I think ‘cubist’ songs and paintings are hideous.
Someday, man will harness the rise and fall of the tides, imprison the power of the sun, and release atomic power.
The dove is my emblem…. I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it…. I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill…
To me, the idea and expectation that the day is slowly and surely coming when we will be able to honestly say we are our brother’s keeper and not his oppressor is very beautiful.
Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge….
Its obvious that we don’t know one millionth of one percent about anything.
I believe that the science of chemistry alone almost proves the existence of an intelligent creator.
If parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave them an estate of incalculable value….
The memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me….
Life’s most soothing things are a child’s goodnight and sweet music….
Great music and art are earthly wonders, but I think ‘cubist’ songs and paintings are hideous.
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 that the listeners do not perceive.
Of all my inventions, I liked the phonograph best….
