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.
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Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park", he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Edison was a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. More significant than the number of Edison's patents was the widespread impact of his inventions: electric light and power utilities, sound recording, and motion pictures all established major new industries worldwide. Edison's inventions contributed to mass communication and, in particular, telecommunications. These included a stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder, a battery for an electric car, electrical power, recorded music and motion pictures. His advanced work in these fields was an outgrowth of his early career as a telegraph operator. Edison developed a system of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses, and factories – a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power station was on Pearl Street in Manhattan, New Yor
I'm 67, but I'm not too old to make a fresh start. I've been through a lot of things like this. It prevents a man from being inflicted with ennui.
All you got to do is stick to it and work like hell.
I've been in the inventor business for 33 years and my experience is that for every problem the Lord has made, He has also made a solution. If you and I can't find the solution, the let's honestly admit that you and I are damn fools but why blame it on the Lord and say He created something…
Try everything. We've had a fine rest, now let's pitch into work again.
Hell, there ain't no rules around here! We're trying to accomplish something.
The joy of a new battle to wrest from nature more of her secrets.
I have never felt better in my life than during the 5 years I worked here. Hard work, nothing to divert my thoughts, clear air, simple food made life very pleasant.
It takes a deaf man to hear.
Remember, nothing that's good works by itself just to please you. You've got to make the damn thing work.
The trouble with other inventors is that they try a few things and quit. I never quit until I get what I want.
I would construct a theory and work on its lines until I found it untenable, then it would be discarded and another theory evolved. This was the only possible way for me to work out the problem.
I have the right principle and am on the right track, but time, hard work, and some good luck are necessary too.
The trouble with telegraphic appliances is they can only be gotten out in the same way as the Irish pilot found the rocks in the harbor–with the bottom of his boat.
I have got so much to do and life is so short, I am going to hustle.