2013 TKR: Quick Quotes about how to get ideas

Quick Quotes about how to get ideas
Self-help--Thinkerer
Updated 7/25/2015
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• The reason quotes stick around is that they fit lots of things.  
• So look them over.  
• You may find one that fits you.  
• Or somebody you know.

Ideas 

• Imagination is not the opposite of reality.  Imagination is the future of reality.
• To think outside the box, first find the box.
• The way to have a good idea is to get a lot of ideas to choose from.
• Another name for focus is tunnel vision.
• Every problem is an opportunity being mismanaged.
• Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.
• Which assumptions are unexamined?
• If you know what you are looking for, you will know how to look for it.
• You know this how?

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• Get the facts, or the facts will get you.
• Luck:  When preparation and opportunity meet.
• The door to creativity opens with a twist of the conventional. 
• Learn how to turn things upside down.   Or you'll  never get the ketchup.
• If you hit a dead end, turn around.
• Don't raise the bridge, lower the river.
• Is there another goal that would do as well?

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• You don't make the new idea without breaking the old rules.
• Everything you take for granted has an expiration date.
• Ignorance ain’t so much not knowing things as knowing so many things that ain’t so.
• If your mind wanders, follow it.  Maybe it knows something you don’t.
• Creativity is like swimming.   You can’t do it until you discover that you can.
• Similarity can take you to novelty, unless someone else gets there first.
• Everything has been thought of before.   The problem is thinking of it when you need it.

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• If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
• You can gather your thoughts quickly if you are thoughtless.
• Canvas, paints, palette.   Anyone can have these.  The art is in how you put them together.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi:  Many of the truths we cling to depend on our point of view.
• A picture in your head is worth a thousand words in your mouth.
• Daydreaming.   It’s not just for children any more.
• Why does everybody do it that way?  Why don’t you ask?  Maybe somebody remembers.
• Why do you want to achieve this goal?

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• Why post keep-off-the-grass signs?  Why not put sidewalks where people want to walk?
• If a thing is worth doing, it is worth knowing why you are doing it.
• Some see things as they are and ask why.   We see things as they could be and ask why not.
• What are your resources?
• You can observe a lot by watching.   -Yogi Berra.
• If you do not know the past, you are destined to repeat it.  And think it is something new.
• Knowledge lies in answers.  Wisdom lies in questions.

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• Look around for something everybody believes.  Could they be wrong?
• People will work harder to prove you wrong than to prove you right.
• Never end a creative job until you have to.
• To walk in another’s shoes, you must first remove you own.
• Learn from the mistakes of others.  You don't have time to make them all yourself.
• Don’t try to stand out in the crowd.  Stand somewhere else.
• Everybody is creative.  The difference is that some people know that and some don’t.

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• Genius is a little inspiration and a lot of perspiration.—Thomas A. Edison.
• The more experience you have, the less you need the props.
• An idea is just floats around without a plan. 
• My best idea was the one I forgot to write down.
• The trick in finding the right answers lies in asking the right questions. 
• Creativity is like the plug on your computer.  The only reason to force it is if you want it to break. 
• Imagination without reality is daydreaming.  Reality without imagination is death.
• All life is art. It's just that not all people appreciate art.

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• If you seek the unity of life, do not seek on the mountain top.  Seek in the midst of life.
• The secret of creativity is drawing on good sources.
• It is never too late for an idea.  It is just too early for the next time you need it.
• You can’t reject an idea you never had.
• If you are talking to yourself, don't just listen.  See.
• Creativity is a mix of ideas and hard work.  
• The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.
• You won't run out of creativity until you stop using it.

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• The strongest card you have is one you haven't played. 
• Are there other problems like this?  Do they have solutions?
• What are your main assumptions?    Do you believe them?
• How would you recognize a solution if you stumbled on it?
• Is this a subgoal?  Is there another way to reach the main goal?
• Only Vulcans seek the superset.

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• Could you solve part of the problem?  Would that help?
• What is the worst thing you could do?
• What is the funniest solution you can think of?
• Who would see this problem as an opportunity?
• How can you change what you tried before?
• Do you know the difference between a groove and a rut?

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• What idea seems least likely to be useful?
• Can you break the rules without breaking the tools?
• Are you listening to the quiet parts of your brain?
• You know what you should do.  What would happen if you did the reverse?
• Have you ever been in this kind of situation before?  What did you do then?
• How would you have dealt with this situation in the past?
• And now for something completely different.  What is it?

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• What part of this problem have you never heard of before?
• What personal skills are you not using?
• What fictional situations have you seen like this one?
• Is there a name for this problem? Can you look it up on the web?
• Imagine a news show about problems like this.  What advice would it give?
• How could you do a trial run?
• Do you need more information?  Where could you look?

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• What made you start wanting to solve this problem?
• If a friend had this problem, what would you suggest?
• How do people usually solve problems like this?
• Who knows more about the problem than you do?
• How would a child see this problem?
• What result will you celebrate?
• Tooth Fairy:  Does your wish list connect to this problem?

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• Canter: Check over what you can't do. You can't be sure you got that right.
• Storyboarder:  Have you ever heard a story like the one you want to happen?
• Putitov:  What would happen if you put off any decision for a while?
• Everything connects to everything else. Creativity is finding connections that fit your goal.
• Ideas come from the quiet parts of you brain.  But only if you listen.
• How did people solve this kind of problem a hundred years ago?
• Give away your ideas.  Make room for more.  You know where to find them.

Related

• Remote collaboration: methods

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