Our ideas, like orange-plants, spread out in proportion to the size of the box which imprisons the roots.
—Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803–73) British Novelist, Poet, Politician
Great ideas need landing gear as well as wings.
—Charles Douglas Jackson (1902–64) American Military Leader
To solve a problem or to reach a goal, you don’t need to know all the answers in advance. But you must have a clear idea of the problem or the goal you want to reach.
—W. Clement Stone (1902–2002) American Self-help Guru, Entrepreneur
One of the secrets to success is ideas mixed with inspiration.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Sometimes the best, and only effective, way to kill an idea is to put it into practice.
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–86) American Essayist, Drama Critic
You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
No man is a failure who is enjoying life.
—William Feather (1889–1981) American Publisher, Author
Human life is driven forward by its dim apprehension of notions too general for its existing language.
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English Mathematician, Philosopher
The greatest events of an age are its best thoughts. It is the nature of thought to find its way into action.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
Ideas won’t work unless you do.
—Unknown
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
—Edward de Bono (1933–2021) Maltese-British Psychologist, Writer
In these days we fight for ideas, and newspapers are our fortresses.
—Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) German Poet, Writer
It’s a pretty good idea to be of good cheer but not all the time. Just at the most unexpected times.
—Indian Proverb
An idea is worth nothing if it has no champion.
—Unknown
The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.
—John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) English Economist
The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds.
—Oliver Sacks (1933–2015) Anglo-American Neurologist, Writer
Concepts, like individuals, have their histories and are just as incapable of withstanding the ravages of time as are individuals. But in and through all this they retain a kind of homesickness for the scenes of their childhood.
—Soren Kierkegaard (1813–55) Danish Philosopher, Theologian
Whenever I hear people talking about liberal ideas, I am always astounded that men should love to fool themselves with empty sounds. An idea should never be liberal; it must be vigorous, positive, and without loose ends so that it may fulfill its divine mission and be productive. The proper place for liberality is in the realm of the emotions.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
There’s no correlation between how good your idea is and how likely your organization will be to embrace it.
—Seth Godin (b.1960) American Entrepreneur
Ideas move rapidly when their time comes.
—Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (1926–2003) American Author, Literary Critic
Ideas are a capital that bears interest only in the hands of talent.
—Antoine de Rivarol (1753–1801) French Writer, Epigrammatist
We are prisoners of ideas.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
A powerful idea communicates some of its strength to him who challenges it.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist
Ideas are refined and multiplied in the commerce of minds. In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.
—Gaston Bachelard (1884–1962) French Philosopher, Psychoanalyst, Poet
Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Hang ideas! They are tramps, vagabonds, knocking at the back-door of your mind, each taking a little of your substance, each carrying away some crumb of that belief in a few simple notions you must cling to if you want to live decently and would like to die easy!
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) Polish-born British Novelist
These people who are always briskly doing something and as busy as waltzing mice, they have little, sharp, staccato ideas, such as: “I see where I can make an annual cut of $3.47 in my meat budget.” But they have no slow, big ideas.
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985) American Journalist Memoirist
A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
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