Thomas Edison — Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.Thomas Edison
Attributed to Thomas Edison (c. 1902)
The famous spark, Edison insists, is almost nothing. The other ninety-nine percent is sweat — the unglamorous, repeated effort that no one applauds and everyone underestimates.
It is oddly encouraging. If mastery is mostly perspiration, then you do not need rare talent to reach it — you need to keep showing up and doing the plain work.
Words that widen the world
Sweat; by extension, hard effort.
Synonyms: sweat, effort, toil
Progress is mostly perspiration.
A sudden good idea or creative spark.
Synonyms: spark, insight, idea
Inspiration is only the beginning.
Common questions
It means achievement comes far more from sustained hard work than from a flash of talent or inspiration.
Yes — it is a well-documented remark from Thomas Edison, around 1902.
Carry it with you
In your own words, what does this thought mean to you? Write three or four sentences in English about a moment when it felt true — saying it yourself is how it stays with you.
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