Thomas Edison was born in Ohio on February 11th, 1847. He was the youngest of 7 children and grew up with strong curiosity. He went to school for two years before dropping out due to family financial difficulties. Edison’s first job at age 12 involved selling newspapers on trains, which he did for over ten years!
Edison eventually found work as an inventor and moved to New York City in 1869. His inventions include the phonograph (1877), motion the picture camera (1888), improved electric lamp (1879) and many other inventions that improved people’s lives.
Edison died on October 18th, 1931, in West Orange, New Jersey. He was 84 years old and had 1,093 U.S patents to his name at the time of his death!
In this blog post, we look at some famous quotes from Thomas Edison and implement them in different aspects of our lives.
1. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison is well-known for his inventions and scientific discoveries. He would often start with a hypothesis and conduct various experiments to prove himself right or wrong. Science does have a reputation for being intimidating at times, but many of the experiments can be done at home! Edison understood that even if he failed, he was just one step closer to finding out what did work. This is important in science, but it also holds for other fields such as entrepreneurship.
2. “There is no substitute for hard work.”
This famous quote by Thomas Edison isn’t just true for science. It’s also true for entrepreneurship. Many people have ideas of starting their own business but don’t put in the necessary time successfully. Instead, they may get a ‘day’ job and spend most of their free time watching TV or surfing the web. Edison did all his work hard and smart. He had hundreds of patents to his name and didn’t give up on the products he wanted to sell. This quote also shows that you need a good work ethic for your business, so be tireless in your work!
3. “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”
This famous quote by Thomas Edison is so true. He didn’t get up early in the morning and head to a job that he hated just to put food on his table. Instead, Edison was doing what he loved and had even created his laboratory where he could come up with new ideas and inventions! This is something we can all relate to since we’ve probably always wanted to be our boss and come up with new concepts for products or services. This quote also shows how important passion is in whatever field you choose to work in, whether it’s science or entrepreneurship!
4. “Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
This famous quote by Thomas Edison is important to remind us that opportunity is always there. You just have to grab it by the reins. Too many people are afraid of taking chances or getting out of their comfort zone. Edison never felt this way, and he ended up becoming one of the most respected inventors in history! This quote also applies to entrepreneurship since you’ll need to do work before earning any money. So don’t let the opportunity pass you by, work hard now and reap the rewards later!
5. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
This famous quote by Edison is key in entrepreneurship or any other field. You may come up with many ideas that won’t work, but you’re one step closer to finding out what will. When Edison said he had failed, he meant that all his previous experiments didn’t produce his desired results. He quickly returned to the drawing board and continued until he found something that would work!
These quotes by Thomas Edison show us how success is inevitable when you’re willing to put in the effort. If every experiment fails, then that means you’re one step closer to knowing what will work!