Jonah Lehrer Quotes

A new idea is like carbonated liquid in a bottle. You just sort of shake it until the cork pops, then you write and write.

You can't have good ideas unless you have lots of ideas.

Creating something is all about problem-solving.

Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found.

My joking answer to this question is that I leave a bowl of milk out on the back porch every night for the Idea Fairy. In the morning, the milk is gone and there's a brand-new shiny idea by the bowl.

I'm wondering how people are so creative, and how many things were born out of and inspired by the Cube.

One rule of invention: before you can invent it, you have to imagine it.

Everything begins with an idea.

Creativity requires input, and that's what research is. You're gathering material with which to build.

We can invent only with memory.

It's not enough to tell people to be creative; they need to know how, and what to create.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

The hardest thing is the idea. Ideas come from somewhere but as far as we know they come from nowhere.

My training and my inclination is to invent.

I love to be creative.

Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits.

I think we always move from imitation to assimilation to innovation, but I can't name you 20 people outside those we've already recognized who ever got to point three: innovation.

The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.

Ideas are the root of creation.

You can't rush inspiration.

The great thing about ideas is that every new idea leads to two more new ones. It’s the opposite of a gold rush, where the more people who show up in 1849 to get that gold in California, the faster the gold runs out. Ideas are not like that; ideas breed.

The new idea for me now is creativity. I like to express myself.

That's the buzz for me, the creative process. An idea is never as good as when it's in your head. And then it's just how little you ruin it.

I'm always looking for the creative spark. Always.

You never know where inspiration is going to come from.