Nassim Nicholas Taleb Quotes

I've always been quite careful about what I wanted to do. I've just never wanted to revisit old ground or do something that's easy. I want to do something that I would look at and go, "I don't know what to do!" The most exciting thing is when you're a bit scared, so I'm looking to find something that's really terrifying.

If you're not allowed to experiment anymore for fear of being considered self-indulgent or pretentious or what have you, then everyone's going to just stick to the rules - there's not going to be any additional ideas.

The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.

It's just about pushing yourself to realms that are uncharted. I love to get to that place where I don't know what kind of music I'm doing, I don't know if it's any good, I don't know if it's anything. It's a big question mark. The idea is to have interesting results. That's my bottom line. Not just a creative fantasy world or something like that, but a mood too.

In Silicon Valley, if you spend a lot of time thinking about the obstacles, you'll talk yourself out of everything, because the more you look at it, the less logical something sounds, since no one has done it yet.

I remember on my very first film, which Steven Soderberg executive-produced, he said, 'Try not to repeat yourself. Do things that scare you.' Even if it's a challenge, I want people to say that this guy tried this thing. Hopefully he learned from it.

I think it's very dangerous as an artist to be comfortable.

Everyone knows we take our time. We're really trying to be responsible with ourselves in trying to discover ideas that haven't been discovered before. It's kind of an alchemy, how we experiment.

There's a lack of creativity in every field because people are afraid. As an artist in this world we can do whatever we want

In a highly critical, scarcity-based world, everyone's afraid to fail. As long as we're afraid to fail, we'll never come up with the big, bold ideas we need to solve these problems.

There can't be art without risk. It's like saying No Sex, and then expecting there to be children.

The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death.

I always felt that if you're not trying something different each time out of the gate, you're being safe, and you don't ever want to find that place of safety. I like that, each time, before I even go in front of the cameras, the studio's reaction will be fear.

We live in a world where art is always looked upon as the perfect medium. We live in a society where we can alter our body parts, we can act in the most perfect or right way. A lot of that is dangerous because, especially in the world of art, the chief enemy of creativity is being safe. If you're safe, you can't fall and hurt yourself. The older you are, the further down the crash is going to be. But if it works out, the higher the high.

To make something really great and different and interesting means taking risks and following these ideas in your head.

Being young is an advantage. You've grown up with games as the dominant entertainment. You have a lot of experience of video games. So what do you want to see that's not been done? Innovation is really low cost for you. You can afford to take risks and fail to execute new ideas.

I always try to keep that feeling of being on the edge. I'm afraid of knowing too well and seeming mechanical.

For me, every day is a new thing. I approach each project with a new insecurity, almost like the first project I ever did. And I get the sweats. I go in and start working, I'm not sure where I'm going. If I knew where I was going I wouldn't do it.

I love to get to that place where I don't know what kind of music I'm doing; I don't know if it's any good. I don't know if it's anything. It's a big question mark. The idea is to have interesting results. That's my bottom line.

To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is swear off having ideas.

Fear of the unknown is a great creative partner.

I think 'crazy' is a compliment. I think you make money with people who are crazy.

Speculation and the exploration of ideas beyond what we know with certainty are what lead to progress.

I always want to keep challenging myself to do something that I don't even have the foresight to know what it's going to be.

I think when you take the big swings - and I've done plenty of big swings that I was told were never going to work - those are always the things that break through.