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

More from Alexander Graham Bell

• Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
• Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mr. Watson, come here, I want 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.