Thomas A. Edison Thinking Quotations

The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.

The best thinking has been done in solitude.

That is to say, under the old way any time we wish to add to the national wealth we are compelled to add to the national debt. Now, that is what Henry Ford wants to prevent. He thinks it is stupid, and so do I, that for the loan of $30,000,000 of their own money the people of the United States should be compelled to pay $66,000,000 - that is what it amounts to, with interest.

There is no limit to which a man will not go to avoid thinking.

I think work is the world's greatest fun.

Because I readily absorb ideas from every source - frequently starting where the last person left off - I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.

Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.

I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it. I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others. I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it. I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill. The dove is my emblem.

I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it.

The man who doesn’t make up his mind to cultivate the habit of thinking misses the greatest pleasure in life.

To do much clear thinking a person must arrange for regular periods of solitude when they can concentrate and indulge the imagination without distraction.

The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand - without growing weary. Because such thinking is often difficult, there seems to be no limit to which some people will go to avoid the effort and labor that is associated with it....

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.

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 brain can be developed just the same as the muscles can be developed, if on will only take the pains to train the mind to think.

I think that Ingersoll had all the attributes of a perfect man, and, in my opinion, no finer personality ever existed. Judging from the past, I cannot help thinking that the intention of the Supreme Intelligence that rules the world is to ultimately make such a type of man universal.

The trouble with most people is that they quit before they start.

There seems to be no limit to which some men will go to avoid the labor of thinking. Thinking is hard work.