---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Thomas Edison himself is said to have…"
description: "\"“As Thomas Edison himself is said to have put it, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wr..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/greg-satell-92568_edison_as-thomas-edison-himself-is-said-to-have_2844587.jpg"
---

#  As Thomas Edison himself is said to have put it, “If I…

![“As Thomas Edison himself is said to have put it, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” quote by Greg Satell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/greg-satell-92568_edison_as-thomas-edison-himself-is-said-to-have_2844587.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/greg-satell-92568_edison_as-thomas-edison-himself-is-said-to-have_2844587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afe/greg-satell-92568_edison_as-thomas-edison-himself-is-said-to-have_2844587.jpg)

> ““As Thomas Edison himself is said to have put it, “If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.””

[Greg Satell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-satell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Failure is reframed as progress; each unsuccessful attempt moves you closer to success.

**In simple terms:** Failure is just a step toward success.

Key Takeaway

Embrace trial and error.

Themes

perseverance innovation mindset

Mood

determined optimistic

Type

Edison:1 Step forward:1 Thomas edison:0 Won Work:0 000 Ways:0 Edison Said:0

When to use this quote

- entrepreneurship
- R&D
- personal growth

Key Concepts

learning iteration resilience

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines a productive failure?
- How many attempts are too many?

A Different Perspective

May overlook the cost of repeated failures.

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[000 Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/000-ways-932273/) [Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edison/) [Edison Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edison-said-2182705/) [Step forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-forward/) [Thomas edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-edison/) [Won Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/won-work-252306/)

## Related quotes

> [“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. -Thomas A. Edison”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-tichio/i-have-not-failed-i-ve-just-found-10-000-ways-that-won-t-work-thomas/)

[Joe Tichio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-tichio/)

> [“Thomas Edison is often said to have advised, “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/thomas-edison-is-often-said-to-have-advised-to-have-a-great-idea-have/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

> [“Thomas Edison said, If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faleena-hopkins/thomas-edison-said-if-we-all-did-the-things-we-are-capable-of-doing/)

[Faleena Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faleena-hopkins/)

> [It's a failure only if you don't get anything out of it, Thomas Edison said he knew 999 ways that a light bulb did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/it-s-a-failure-only-if-you-don-t-get-anything-out-of-it-thomas-edison/)

[Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/)

> [I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-not-failed-i-ve-just-found-10-000-ways-that-won-t-work/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-friedman/thomas-edison-once-said-many-of-life-s-failures-are-people-who-did/)

[Jane Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-friedman/)

> [“Thomas Edison once said, “One might think that the money value of an invention constitutes its reward to the man who loves his work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-niven/thomas-edison-once-said-one-might-think-that-the-money-value-of-an/)

[Paul R. Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-niven/)

> [“I have not failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Thomas Edison I like this attitude...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davee-jones/i-have-not-failed-i-ve-just-found-10-000-ways-that-won-t-work-thomas-2/)

[Davee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davee-jones/)

> [“I have not failed ten thousand times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those ten thousand ways won’t work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-o-connor/i-have-not-failed-ten-thousand-times-i-have-not-failed-once-i-have/)

[Dave O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-o-connor/)

> [“My first hero was Thomas Edison, whose adult life had consisted entirely of free time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/my-first-hero-was-thomas-edison-whose-adult-life-had-consisted/)

[Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/)

> [Yes, my grandfather worked with Thomas Edison on the electric car, and he sold electric cars at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jardine/yes-my-grandfather-worked-with-thomas-edison-on-the-electric-car-and/)

[Al Jardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jardine/)

> [When Edison first started out with his "crazy" idea for the light bulb, skeptics were unmoved. They called Thomas Edison a con man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/when-edison-first-started-out-with-his-crazy-idea-for-the-light-bulb/)

[Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/)

> [“I have not failed,” said Thomas Edison. “I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-moore/i-have-not-failed-said-thomas-edison-i-ve-just-found-ten-thousand/)

[Margaret Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-moore/)

> [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/)

[Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/)

> [Without doubt, Thomas Edison is my greatest contemporary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/without-doubt-thomas-edison-is-my-greatest-contemporary/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

## More by Greg Satell

> [“Increasingly, management’s role is not to organize work, but to direct passion and purpose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-satell/increasingly-management-s-role-is-not-to-organize-work-but-to-direct/)

[Greg Satell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-satell/)

[Explore all 2 Greg Satell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-satell/)

## More Edison quotes

> [The average person would have quit at the first failure. That’s why there have been many average men and only one Edison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-average-person-would-have-quit-at-the-first-failure-that-s-why/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [Now tell me what got two thumbs and knows how to spit rhymes? Two thumbs up, you gon point em at this guy. Al…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xv/now-tell-me-what-got-two-thumbs-and-knows-how-to-spit-rhymes-two/)

[XV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xv/)

> [“Edison invented the lightbulb the way Steve Jobs invented the MP3 player: he wasn’t the first, but he was the first to make something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/edison-invented-the-lightbulb-the-way-steve-jobs-invented-the-mp3/)

[Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/)

> [“And, of course, he eventually found it—proving that genius often really is just persistence in disguise. In applying the entirety of his physical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-of-course-he-eventually-found-it-proving-that-genius-often-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The State's got the Burden of Proof, Edison says, kind of like we do every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-state-s-got-the-burden-of-proof-edison-says-kind-of-like-we-do/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Without doubt, Thomas Edison is my greatest contemporary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/without-doubt-thomas-edison-is-my-greatest-contemporary/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [ If he \[Thomas Edison\] had a needle to find in a haystack, he would not stop to reason where it was most likely to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/if-he-thomas-edison-had-a-needle-to-find-in-a-haystack-he-would-not/)

[Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/)

> [“I have not failed,” said Thomas Edison. “I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-moore/i-have-not-failed-said-thomas-edison-i-ve-just-found-ten-thousand/)

[Margaret Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-moore/)

> [Now, suppose a Negro does something really magnificent, and I glory, not in the benefit to mankind, but in the fact that the doer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/now-suppose-a-negro-does-something-really-magnificent-and-i-glory-not/)

[Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/)

> [Mr Edison gave America just what was needed at that moment in history. They say that when people think of me, they think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/mr-edison-gave-america-just-what-was-needed-at-that-moment-in-history/)

[Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/)

> [When Marconi suggested the possibility of wireless transmission of sound (the radio),he was committed to a mental institution. But people like Lincoln, Edison, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-marconi-suggested-the-possibility-of-wireless-transmission-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When Edison first started out with his "crazy" idea for the light bulb, skeptics were unmoved. They called Thomas Edison a con man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/when-edison-first-started-out-with-his-crazy-idea-for-the-light-bulb/)

[Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/)

> [The most famous self-made man in the world today is our own Edison. Talk with Mr. Edison and he will tell you he owes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-most-famous-self-made-man-in-the-world-today-is-our-own-edison/)

[B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/)

> [Yes, my grandfather worked with Thomas Edison on the electric car, and he sold electric cars at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jardine/yes-my-grandfather-worked-with-thomas-edison-on-the-electric-car-and/)

[Al Jardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jardine/)

> [“Edison concentrated upon the work of harmonizing natural laws”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/edison-concentrated-upon-the-work-of-harmonizing-natural-laws/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

[Browse all 108 Edison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edison/)

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