You can't realize your dreams unless you have one to begin with.

I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.

I told [Kruesi] I was going to record talking, and then have the machine talk back. He thought it absurd. However, it was finished, the foil was put on; I then shouted "Mary had a little lamb," etc. I adjusted the reproducer, and the machine reproduced it perfectly. On first words spoken on a phonograph.

If I could solve all the problems myself, I would.

A reporter called on Edison to interview him about a substitute for lead in the manufacture of storage batteries that the scientist was seeking. Edison informed the man that he had made 20,000 experiments but none had worked. "Aren't you discouraged by all this waste of effort?" the reporter asked. Edison: "Waste! There's nothing wasted. I have discovered 20,000 things that won't work."

Failure is the most effective technique to optimize strategic planning, implementation and processes.

Life's most soothing things are a child's goodnight and sweet music.