Isambard Kingdom Brunel

"I am opposed to the laying down of rules or conditions to be observed in the construction of bridges lest the progress of improvements tomorrow may be embarrassed or shackled by recording and deciding on rules based on the knowledge of today."

"The most important thing is to use your judgment, never follow orders blindly."

"Nothing is impossible to those who will try."

"I believe that the great height of the American engineers is not pyramids and cathedrals, but the long sum of little things."

"Fixed rules do not accord with the exigencies of our case."

"Do not suppose that abruptness is a sign of strength."

"The public have always been ready to receive with avidity information respecting the marvels of nature."

"Everything I have done, I have done right."

"I never shirk from responsibility, but I am not ashamed of success."

"The Engineer, properly so called, is not merely a person who understands the theory of applied mechanics."

"My life has been a struggle, but struggle is what makes man."

"I am never embarrassed when in the company of great men."

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

"The really difficult thing is to wake oneself up to what one wants to do."

"It appears to me that if the facts will not agree with the theory, the facts must be disposed of."

"I am in the midst of designs which I feel confident will not only be creditable but will open an entirely new field."

"The practical engineer is not merely a man of science."

"Man must be ever ready to face the tempests of life."

"There is no such thing as an impossible task; there are only impossible deadlines."

"I must say I have always been treated with the utmost kindness, fairness, and consideration."

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."

"You cannot move forward while looking backward."

"Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration."

"The most beautiful invention of man is thought."

"I have great faith in the ultimate success of my designs."

"The power of the engineer lies in his ability to make something from nothing."

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

"I am driven by the desire to create something that will endure."

"The work of an engineer is not confined to calculations and drawing plans."

"In all my designs, I strive for perfection, though I know it to be unattainable."