Paul Buchheit Quotes

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.

One of the most significant design principles is to omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.

Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, "Does it do [x]?", "Do you plan to add [y]?". Finally Jobs said, "Wait wait - put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don't want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.

Eliminate the unnecessary and focus on the substance.

Through your life, most people peel away the junk that's not useful, that's superfluous. You are determined to peel that away. I do one thing at a time. One man at a time. One car. One house. One child. One job.

I have learned to pare down what I do and still be effective and strong in a role.

Creativity has more to do with the elimination of the inessential than with inventing something new.

If I try to articulate every little detail in a drawing, it would be like missing the forest for the trees, so it's just about getting the outline of the forest.

Here's a vice: I say yes to too many things. I wish I had the guilty pleasure of saying no. My goal is to try to do less, but more fully.

I don't put the focus on things that don't matter.

I sometimes think less is more. If you cut yourself in too many places, it is hard to execute.

Most people in business and within their personal lives move towards complexity. More To Dos. More projects. More products. More meetings. More possessions. More goals. The best - I suggest to you - move in the opposite direction.

I'm known for having a very small to-do list and a big don't-do list.

Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, 'Is this necessary?'

I believe that all wisdom consists in caring immensely for a few right things, and not caring a straw about the rest.

Simplicity is the key to success.

Knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to focus on.

Simplicity is ultimately a matter of focus.

Keep out of your mind, and out of your office, and out of your world, every element that seeks admittance with no definite, helpful, useful end in view.

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with-that's poverty-but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you're clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it's clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. (148)

The more simply you see, the more simply you will render. People see too much, scatteringly.

It's not about having it all. It's about having what you value most.

Live uncluttered lives so you could have time for what is most important.

There is but one art, to omit! Oh, if I knew how to omit I would ask no other knowledge. A man who knows how to omit would make an Iliad of a daily paper.

The more you limit your choices, thereby limiting thought, the more you can simplify your life and focus your energy elsewhere.