James Altucher Quotes

People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' Well, on the first place, I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea, it's too limiting and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity.

You can drastically increase your chances for success if you try lots of things and bring the best forward.

I go into the whole composer thing quite open to keep on going and keep on trying different things because you never know... the next idea you have might be the one.

A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.

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.

You want experimentation. Every once in awhile, you stumble upon something that blows your mind.

Certain things you have to stumble on to. They can't be preprogrammed.

Play is the answer to the question, 'How does anything new come about?'

My absolutely favorite time of working on a project is the time I spend not knowing what it is. Because the longer you live inside that period, the likelier you are to discover something new.

I'm always open to new stuff. I don't sit and try to figure out what to do, I just wait for an idea to come.

There’s never a wrong idea. You just keep throwing stuff out and inevitably there are elements of different things that inspire a character or environment.

I'm terrible on facts. But I always have an idea. If you have an idea, you're well ahead

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

I pay attention to what's going on around me. I'm always looking for new energy, new talent, new voices. When you do that I think it's easier to come up with fresh ideas. It's not that my career has been based on surprising people, but it's been about challenging myself - to constantly do new things that are going to broaden my own mind and in the process, hopefully, connect with other people.

You can't buy something which does not exist. In a way, let's make things exist and then judge later. Don't cancel the process of creativity too early; let it flow.

When you meet someone with a vision, you have to give them a shot and an opportunity to see what they can do.

I think I've always been slightly addicted to not repeating myself. When you're doing something the first time around, it's often the best time. I think 'Blank Project' is about carrying on. Its that thing where you're making something because you have to, but you don't know how or why.

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

Every time I write a song I feel really lucky and kind of surprised. Not surprised that I wrote it, but just surprised that things exist that you don't know about.

All good ideas arrive by chance.

Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.

Steve Jobs was Galileo in a past life. Discovery was instinctual for him.

From the very beginning, I've always just wanted to do something I've never done before. I'm still just trying to be on that path. It's all about working with filmmakers that you believe in.

I'm always looking for something new: a new inspiration, a new philosophy, a new way to look at something, new talent.