quotations about creativity
You will find that the truth about creativity is hidden behind this high wall in front of us. I have made a ladder that suits me so I can climb up and see what is hidden there. You are welcome to study my ladder, to copy it if you need to, or even climb up on it together with me to see over the wall. However, when I leave I have to take my ladder with me, so the best thing for you is to build your own, one that suits you best.
ANDERS LENNART SWAHN & STAFFAN SVAHN
Creativity
Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on ... the disciplined adult intelligence.
NORMAN PODHORETZ
Playboy, Dec. 1968
The creative process is also the most terrifying part because you don't know exactly what's going to happen or where it is going to lead. You don't know what new dangers and challenges you'll find. It takes an enormous amount of internal security to begin with the spirit of adventure, discovery, and creativity. Without doubt, you have to leave the comfort zone of base camp and confront an entirely new and unknown wilderness.
STEPHEN COVEY
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
They all possessed that virtuous energy of the ancients ... the republic of creative minds: each giant calling to his brother through the desolate intervals of time. And undisturbed by the wanton noises of the dwarfs that creep past beneath them, their high spirit-converse continues.
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks
Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.
ERICH FROMM
attributed, 1,001 Pearls of Wisdom
Too academic an education can inhibit the workings of the creative mind.
MARGARET DRABBLE
The Paris Review, fall/winter 1978
Creative life is characterized by spontaneous mutability; it brings forth unknown issues, impossible to preconceive.
D. H. LAWRENCE
Selected Essays
Creativity cannot always be attained at will. There are fluctuations that occur in the process. A certain amount of down time is necessary for the creative process to run its course. Putting the right things into the brain is preparation so that once those down times take place, the intuitive part of the brain has something to draw on for inspiration and content.
WILLIAM G. COVINGTON
JR., Creativity and General Systems Theory
Creativity is discovering the elegant patterns of meaning across diverse areas of our knowledge and experience.
MICHAEL A. WEST
Developing Creativity in Organizations
Creativity ... is in reality the ability to reach inside yourself and drag forth from your very soul an idea.
LOU DORFSMAN
attributed, Wisdom for the Soul
Creativity is never just doing something different. It is doing something different that is significant at that precise point in the cultural tradition.
MARK AMSLER
The Languages of Creativity
Creativity means not copying.
FERRAN ADRIÀ
Washington Post, Oct. 11, 2011
I am a natural creator. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy--pure creative energy. It is my birthright to co-create my life and my experience. My dreams come from God. The power to fulfill my dreams is God given. There is an indwelling, underlying creative power infusing all of life, including ourselves. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the Great Creator working with us and within us.
JULIA CAMERON
Heart Steps
Enjoyment of the work consists in participation in the creative state of the artist.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
Nietzsche
Creativity is the soul of the true scholar.
NNAMDI AZIKIWE
speech, Nov. 11, 1934
You can always make up in creativity what you lack in good fortune. Playing the game of life is like playing poker. Playing three aces badly won't get you as far as playing a terrible hand well.
ERNIE J. ZELINSKI
The Lazy Person's Guide to Success: How to Get What You Want Without Killing Yourself for It
Creativity is the steam that powers the locomotive of progress.
DANNY COX
Leadership When the Heat's On
The chief enemy of creativity is "good" taste.
PABLO PICASSO
attributed, Wisdom for the Soul
Creativity is part of what makes us human. Our nearest relatives, chimpanzees and other primates, are often quite intelligent but never reach these high levels of performance. And although advanced "artificially intelligent" computer programs hold the world title in chess, and can crunch through mounds of data and identify patterns invisible to the human eye, they still cannot master everyday creative skills.
ROBERT KEITH SAWYER
Explaining Creativity
God rested when he had left his creative power to itself in man.
WALTER BENJAMIN
Reflections