Edward de Bono Quotes - Page 3

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Traditional thinking is all about "what is" Future thinking will also need to be about what can be.

Logic will never change emotion or perception.

The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.

Opportunity ideas do not lie around waiting to be discovered. Such ideas need to be produced.

It's not enough to rage against the lie.. you've got to replace it with the truth.

The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

What the joke displays is a switch in perception. This is important in changing the way we think.

Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight. If it were not, we would never be able to see its value.

I'm tired of dreaming. I'm into doing at the moment. It's, like, let's only have goals that we can go after.

Lateral thinking... is the process of using information to bring about creativity and insight restructuring. Lateral thinking can be learned, practised and used. It is possible to acquire skill in it just as it is possible to acquire skill in mathematics.

Don't criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one.

We need creativity in order to break free from the temporary structures that have been set up by a particular sequence of experience.

Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee.

Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.

America is not just a country, it's an idea.

It has always surprised me how little attention philosophers have paid to humor, since it is a more significant process of mind than reason. Reason can only sort out perceptions, but the humor process is involved in changing them.

Removing the faults in a stage-coach may produce a perfect stage-coach, but it is unlikely to produce the first motor car.

As competition intensifies, the need for creative thinking increases. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better . . . no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems.

Once a new idea springs into existence, it cannot be unthought. There is a sense of immortality in a new idea.

Creative thinking - in terms of idea creativity - is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured.

A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.

Thinking is the ultimate human resource. Yet we can never be satisfied with our most important skill. No matter how good we become, we should always want to be better