Charles F. Kettering

Inventor

1876-08-29 – 1958-11-25

Charles F. Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, and industrial research leader associated with General Motors and Delco. He contributed to major automotive innovations, including the electric starter and advances in engine technology. Kettering was one of the most influential U.S. inventors of the 20th century.

Quotes by Charles F. Kettering

The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.
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The only difference between a problem and a solution is that people understand the solution.
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My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.
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No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.
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Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down.
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High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.
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Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax.
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The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
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You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere.
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An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots.
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Problems are the price of progress. Don't bring me anything but trouble. Good news weakens me.
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A problem well stated is a problem half-solved.
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If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.
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You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.
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Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.
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We need to teach the highly educated person that it is not a disgrace to fail and that he must analyze every failure to find its cause. He must learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.
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Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.
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A problem well stated is a problem half solved.
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It is man's destiny to ponder on the riddle of existence and, as a byproduct of his wonderment, to create a new life on this earth.
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