Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident they came by work.
Great ideas originate in the muscles.
To have a great idea, have a lot of them.
Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless.
The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won't work.
It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.
There is no substitute for hard work.
Anything that won't sell, I don't want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.
I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.
The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success.
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
To my mind the old masters are not art their value is in their scarcity.
The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.
Religion is all bunk.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.