Margaret J. Wheatley Quotes

I think a lot of people study the rules too much and then don't know how to be creative.

Politics is the enemy of the imagination.

Form is burden. Sometimes being part of the system enslaves the mind and greatly limits the imagination by enslaving it to form. Form is a burden to the mind that sees no limits. Form is a prison for the soul who sees possibilities outside the lines and wishes to test them.

There is no poetry where there are no mistakes.

Go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

Dare to err and to dream. Deep meaning often lies in childish plays.

When you are not free, you are not creating; you are being created.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.

Fear, conformity, immorality: these are heavy burdens. They drain us of creative energy. And when we are drained of creative energy, we do not create. We procreate, but we do not create.

I don't read my books, so I don't allow myself the dangerous luxury of toying with the idea of doing things differently.

I think the idea of art kills creativity.

Rules and models destroy genius and art.

That's another thing, we made up games. We didn't have equipment. When it snowed, we would play slow motion tackle football. We would play hockey, but we wouldn't skate. We just made things up. I loved doing that.

People put limitations on their creativity, believing they have to rely on what they know and what they have done.

Creativity seldom thrives in an atmosphere of great discipline or scrutiny. That's one reason we tend not to want our leaders to get too creative.

If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.

Kids are naturally inventive and curious and creative, but most adults have had that beaten out of them. Writing is a form of play; you have to get rid of all those internal censors that we adults have, the things that say, 'Don't go there, that's not allowed.'

Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.

In order to be creative you have to be allowed to fail.

For most people, creativity is a serious business. They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more. Often, the reverse is true. They need to play.

Creativity and innovation always builds on the past. The past always tries to control the creativity that builds upon it. Free societies enable the future by limiting this power of the past. Ours is less and less a free society.

There has to be space for play in literature. We all need some breathing room.

If you have rules, you let creativity sleep.

Theatre is a playground. It really is, and we should use that playground more.

Our idea of fun wasn't going to Disney World. It was, you want to play basketball, go outside, and make a goal. You want to play baseball? Take the old broom, take the handle off, take a tennis ball that we found somewhere, and go play baseball. We were forced to create things.