20 quotes
A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with — a man is what he makes of himself.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
Neither the Army nor the Navy is of any protection, or very little protection, against aerial raids.
There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
Sophia's Fire (2005)
Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
Mr. Watson — Come here — I want to see you.
Perseverance must have some practical end, or it does not avail the man possessing it. A person without a practical end in view becomes a crank or an idiot. Such persons fill our asylums.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
I had made up my mind to find that for which I was searching even if it required the remainder of my life.
If a man is not bound down, he is sure to succeed.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
You cannot force ideas. Successful ideas are the result of slow growth. Ideas do not reach perfection in a day, no matter how much study is put upon them.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
The final result of our researches has widened the class of substances sensitive to light vibrations, until we can propound the fact of such sensitiveness being a general property of all matter.
I begin my work at about nine or ten o'clock in the evening and continue until four or five in the morning. Night is a more quiet time to work. It aids thought.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
The inventor...looks upon the world and is not contented with things as they are. He wants to improve whatever he sees, he wants to benefit the world; he is haunted by an idea. The spirit of invention possesses him, seeking materialization.
Man is the result of slow growth; that is why he occupies the position he does in animal life. What does a pup amount to that has gained its growth in a few days or weeks, beside a man who only attains it in as many years.
Bell Telephone Talk (1901)
Don't keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods.
Disputed
Don't keep forever on the public road, going only where others have gone.
Disputed Design of Devices and Systems (1998)
Don't keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten path occasionally and dive into the woods. You will be certain to find something you have never seen before, and something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought.
Disputed Worth Repeating: More Than 5000 Classic and Contemporary Quotes (2003)
Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do so you will be certain to see something you have never seen before. Of course it will be a little thing, but do not ignore it. Follow it up, explore around it, and before you know it, something worth thinking about to occupy your mind.
Disputed A Treasury of Inspirational Thoughts (2004)
Leave the beaten track occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do so you will find something you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore around it, and before you know it, you will have something to think about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the result of thought.
Disputed