Never Unplugged: The Relentless Work Ethic of an American Genius
- Dillion Liskai
- Apr 28
- 4 min read
As a young child, it was evident that Thomas Edison’s “motor” was significantly larger than that of the average person. When he was twelve years old, he begged and pleaded with his mother, Nancy, and his father, Samuel, for a job. He desperately wanted to work. Thomas told them, “I need more money. I am going to do things, and I must have more money. There is no reason I cannot get a regular job and work during the time I am not studying.” Throughout his life, he believed in the value of hard work. In his mind, hard work was the key that unlocked millions of doors of opportunity for Thomas Edison.
He worked tirelessly, investing numerous hours, days, and weeks into his passion for experimentation and invention. He never took his foot off the proverbial “gas pedal.” If you visit the Don Gfell Education Center at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum, you can see a timecard of his from the week of September 17, 1912. In one week at the age of 65, Thomas Edison logged an impressive 112 hours and 6 minutes, making the average 40-hour work week in 2025 look like peanuts in comparison. To say that his work ethic was legendary is a colossal understatement, and there are truly no words in the dictionary that can adequately describe it. While we may not be able to describe it aptly, Thomas certainly did. Newspapers and reporters from around the world would visit Edison to inquire about how and why he worked so hard, and naturally, he had many reasons.
One reason he worked so hard, according to him, was to avoid all the attention. In a December 28, 1878, interview with the New York Graphic, he stated:
“I work nights in order to escape from visitors. It is very nice and still here at night! I fled out to this uninhabited spot to be alone…When I would see a lot of heads coming over the hill from the depot- amiable and delightful people, ministers, teachers, scholars, farmers, doctors, who wanted to know, you know, and those excellent people would devour two straight hours of my time and pay for it with expressions of admiration.”
A year after he made the phonograph and less than a year before he would patent his incandescent bulb, it is no wonder that throngs of visitors wanted to pick his brain or get a sneak peek at the next great invention. To escape all the distractions, Thomas did what he knew best: work.
The visitors mentioned came to witness Edison’s genius. While we refer to Thomas Edison as a genius, he did not necessarily see himself that way. He viewed genius not as something he possessed, but as a product of his actions. When asked in 1903 by Harper’s Weekly about his genius, Thomas said, “Then again, a lot of people think I have done things because of some ‘genius’ that I’ve got. That too is not true. Any other bright-minded fellow can accomplish just as much if he will stick like hell and remember that nothing that’s any good works by itself.” In the same interview, he went on to utter one of his most famous quotes, telling the reporter that “Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Yes, sir, it’s mostly hard work.”
The scariest part of Edison’s “genius” is that it simply never slowed down. He had a mind full of ideas and knew his ideas could never come to fruition if he did not work for them. He once stated, “I would like to live about three hundred years. I think I have enough ideas to keep me busy that long.” When asked a day after his 74th birthday in 1921 by the Dallas Morning News when he would quit working, he replied, “When the doctors bring in the oxygen tanks to keep me going, I’ll quit. Not before.” Exactly seven years later, a day after his 81st birthday, a reporter from the New York Times asked the question again, and this time, Thomas jokingly responded, “A few days before the funeral.” At the time Thomas Edison passed away at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931, he was still working, trying alongside his good friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone to find a new and domestic source of rubber.
Thomas Edison’s legacy is not simply one of invention but of relentless determination, unshakable discipline, and a fiery passion for progress that never dimmed. His life was fueled not by privilege or prodigy but by the unyielding belief that hard work could conquer all. To Edison, genius wasn’t a gift bestowed; it was earned, hour by hour, experiment by experiment, failure by failure. Whether he was escaping crowds in the quiet of night, skipping meals and sleep to chase a breakthrough, or working tirelessly up until his final breath, Edison proved that greatness is less about brilliance and more about endurance. It is less about getting the answer right and more about trying to come up with an answer in the first place. It is less about perfection and more about progress. His story reminds us that the most powerful engine in the world is the human spirit, which, when driven by purpose, persistence, and a refusal to ever slow down, cannot be stopped.
Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading
Edison, Thomas A. 2011. The Quotable Edison. Edited by Michele W. Albion. University Press of Florida.
National Park Service. n.d. “Mary Stilwell Edison - Thomas Edison National Historical Park (U.S.” National Park Service. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/mary-stillwell-edison.htm?source=post_page---------------------------
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is currently a junior at Bowling Green State University. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education with a specialization in History.
For the past three years, Dillon has worked as a tour guide at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.
Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!
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