--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have not failed. I have successfully…" description: "\"I have not failed. I have successfully discovered 1200 ideas that don't work.\" — Thomas A. Edison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/thomas-a-edison-866_being-positive_i-have-not-failed-i-have-successfully-di_2319251.jpg" --- # I have not failed. I have successfully discovered 1200… ![“I have not failed. I have successfully discovered 1200 ideas that don't work.” quote by Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/thomas-a-edison-866_being-positive_i-have-not-failed-i-have-successfully-di_2319251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/thomas-a-edison-866_being-positive_i-have-not-failed-i-have-successfully-di_2319251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/thomas-a-edison-866_being-positive_i-have-not-failed-i-have-successfully-di_2319251.jpg) > “I have not failed. I have successfully discovered 1200 ideas that don't work.” [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Frames failure as a learning process, counting each non‑working idea as progress toward success. **In simple terms:** Failure is learning. Key Takeaway Treat each setback as data for improvement. Themes innovation perseverance learning Mood optimistic reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - R&D - entrepreneurship - personal projects Key Concepts Scientific method growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - How many ideas have you tested? - What did you learn from the last failure? A Different Perspective Too many failures can cause discouragement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1200 Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1200-ideas-5537841/) [Being positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-positive/) [Discovered 1200](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovered-1200-5537844/) [Failed Successfully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failed-successfully-5537842/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successfully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successfully/) [Successfully Discovered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successfully-discovered-5537843/) ## Related quotes > [I didn’t fail ten thousand times. I successfully eliminated, ten thousand times, materials and combinations which wouldn’t work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-didn-t-fail-ten-thousand-times-i-successfully-eliminated-ten/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Life is much more successfully looked at from a single window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-much-more-successfully-looked-at-from-a-single-window/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm happy for all who reached for the stars happily and successfully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-monnar/i-m-happy-for-all-who-reached-for-the-stars-happily-and-successfully/) [Ana Monnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-monnar/) > [In school, many of us procrastinate and then successfully cram for tests. We get the grades and degrees we need to get the jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/in-school-many-of-us-procrastinate-and-then-successfully-cram-for/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I've always felt that to deliver a song successfully, you have to be an actress. A good actress becomes the part, just as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vesta-williams/i-ve-always-felt-that-to-deliver-a-song-successfully-you-have-to-be/) [Vesta Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vesta-williams/) > [We probably could more successfully resolve the North Korean nuclear threat through game-theoretic reasoning. We could successfully resolve what American leaders seem to perceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/we-probably-could-more-successfully-resolve-the-north-korean-nuclear/) [Bruce Bueno de Mesquita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/) > [Our computers double in capability on time scales of only a few years. 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It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-somers/to-successfully-lose-weight-after-40-you-need-to-understand-that/) [Suzanne Somers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-somers/) > [Have faith, hope, and charity, that's the way to live successfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornell/have-faith-hope-and-charity-that-s-the-way-to-live-successfully/) [Don Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornell/) > [“life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-much-more-successfully-looked-at-from-a-single-window-after/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What the Olympics and other mega-events have shown is that the significant investment required to host an international games successfully has the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-attias/what-the-olympics-and-other-mega-events-have-shown-is-that-the/) [Richard Attias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-attias/) ## More by Thomas A. Edison > [We are striking it big in the electric light, better than my vivid imagination first conceived. Where this thing is going to stop Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/we-are-striking-it-big-in-the-electric-light-better-than-my-vivid/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [I will not say I failed 1000 times, I will say that I discovered there are 1000 ways that can cause failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-will-not-say-i-failed-1000-times-i-will-say-that-i-discovered-there/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Friendship is the heaven of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/friendship-is-the-heaven-of-life/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/even-though-i-am-nearly-deaf-i-seem-to-be-gifted-with-a-kind-of-inner/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/being-busy-does-not-always-mean-real-work-the-object-of-all-work-is/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [The very first thing an executive must have is a fine memory. Of course it does not follow that a man with a fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/the-very-first-thing-an-executive-must-have-is-a-fine-memory-of/) [Thomas A. 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Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/when-i-have-fully-decided-that-a-result-is-worth-getting-i-go-ahead/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [I remember that I was never able to get along at school. I was at the foot of the class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-remember-that-i-was-never-able-to-get-along-at-school-i-was-at-the/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Invention is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/invention-is-10-inspiration-and-90-perspiration/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [There seems to be no limit to which some men will go to avoid the labor of thinking. Thinking is hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/there-seems-to-be-no-limit-to-which-some-men-will-go-to-avoid-the/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Somewhere between the ages of eleven and fifteen, the average child begins to suffer from an atrophy, the paralysis of curiosity and the suspension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/somewhere-between-the-ages-of-eleven-and-fifteen-the-average-child/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Not only will atomic power be released, but someday we will harness the rise and fall of the tides and imprison the rays of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/not-only-will-atomic-power-be-released-but-someday-we-will-harness/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) [Explore all 345 Thomas A. 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