Quotes from Roger von Oech

It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out-of-date.

Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be.

There is a close relationship between the "ha-ha" of humor and the "aha!" of discovery.

Life is like a maze in which you try to avoid the exit.

Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they both are products of the same process.

Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.

Flexibility is a requirement for survival.

Either you let your life slip away by not doing the things you want to do, or you get up and do them.

When everyone thinks alike, no one is doing very much thinking.

It's difficult to get your creative juices flowing if you're always being practical, following rules, afraid to make mistakes, not looking into outside areas, or under the influence of any of the other mental locks.

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

Life is ambiguous; there are many right answers — all depending on what you are looking for. But if you think there's only one right answer, then you'll stop looking as soon as you find one.

Knowledge is the stuff from which new ideas are made. Thus, the real key to being creative lies in what you do with your knowledge.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who divide everything into two groups, and those who don't.

That's because people find what they're looking for. If we look for beauty, we'll find beauty. If we look for conspiracies, we'll find conspiracies. It's all a matter of setting our mental channel.

For example: How do you keep a fish from smelling? Cook it as soon as you catch it. Freeze it. Wrap it in paper. Leave it in the water. Switch to chicken. Keep a cat around. Burn incense. Cut its nose off.

What do you call a clairvoyant midget who just broke out of prison? A small medium at large!

It's important for the explorer to be willing to be led astray.

Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they both are products of the same process.

Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.

Humor helps people open up.

Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.

Either you let your life slip away by not doing the things you want to do, or you get up and do them.

Everyone has a 'risk muscle.' You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don't, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.