Alexander Graham Bell — People

An open wooden drawer floating among plum-colored clouds, with a glowing ladder rising toward golden light. — Original artwork

A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with — a man is what he makes of himself.

Alexander Graham Bell

Three open wooden tool trays form steps, each displaying small brass tools against coral and purple. — Original artwork

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

Alexander Graham Bell

A magnifying lens on a brass stand directs a bright spot of light onto a green leaf resting on a dark tile. — Original artwork

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

Alexander Graham Bell

Mossy stone steps leading into a forest lit by shafts of sunlight. — Original artwork

Don’t keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten track behind 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.

Alexander Graham Bell

A worn muddy walking boot stands beside a fern and small pebbles against a muted green background. — Original artwork

Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do you will be certain to find something you have never seen before.

Alexander Graham Bell

A man at a workbench with an early telephone apparatus, seen from behind, as another man listens in the next room. — Original artwork

Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.

Alexander Graham Bell

Painterly brass telephone earpiece and small gears beside an unrolled technical drawing. — Original artwork

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.

Alexander Graham Bell

A blue and cream paper kite with a small glass globe hanging from its string against a sky-blue background. — Original artwork

The nation that secures control of the air will ultimately control the world.

Alexander Graham Bell

A taut bright red thread running through a small cluster of loose grey knots on a pale background. — Original artwork

What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.

Alexander Graham Bell

Two miniature doors side by side, one weathered and closed, the other outlined in gold and slightly open, against a plum background. — Original artwork

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

Alexander Graham Bell