Feeling stuck? Need a little inspiration? Unlock the potential of your ideas with inspiring quotes from the greatest thinkers in history.
Every invention, every innovation, every product, begins with a single idea, so it is no surprise that the greatest minds have had a thing or two to say about them. From pondering where ideas come from to inspiring quotes about taking action, we can learn a lot from the experts.
Here, we explore some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking quotes about ideas, from the greatest thinkers, writers, and innovators of all time. Enjoy!
Some of Our Favorite Idea Quotes
1. “I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.” – Pablo Picasso
2. “Ideas won’t keep. Something must be done about them.” – Alfred North Whitehead
3. “Ideas without action are worthless.” – Harvey Mackay
4. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” – John Steinbeck
5. “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Quotes about New Ideas
6. “The man with a new idea is a crank — until the idea succeeds.” – Mark Twain
7. “If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” – Albert Einstein
8. “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” – John Cage
9. “Almost all really new ideas have a certain aspect of foolishness when they are just produced.” – Alfred North Whitehead
10. “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.” – Ovid
Quotes About Where Ideas Come From
11. “Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.” – Sam Walton
12. “Why is it I always get my best ideas while shaving?” – Albert Einstein
13. “The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.” – Linus Pauling
14. “The air is full of ideas. They are knocking you in the head all the time. You only have to know what you want, then forget it, and go about your business. Suddenly, the idea will come through. It was there all the time.” – Henry Ford
15. “The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table.” – Steven Johnson
Quotes about Ideas and Hard Work
16. “I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas.” – Albert Einstein
17. “To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, requires a lot of discipline.” – Steve Jobs
18. “Great ideas originate in the muscles.” – Thomas Edison
19. “Ideas won’t work unless you do.” – Unknown
20. “Get a good idea and stay with it. Do it, and work at it until it’s done right.” – Walt Disney
More Quotes about Ideas
21. “Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.” – Napoleon Hill
22. “Everything begins with an idea.” – Earl Nightengale
23. “No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
24. “Everyone is in love with their own ideas.” – Carl Jung
25. “An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.” – Charles Dickens
26. “All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.” – Napoleon Hill
27. “It is the essence of genius to make use of the simplest ideas. – Charles Peguy
28. “An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.” – Oscar Wilde
29. “Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” – Paula Poundstone
30. “Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.” – Thomas Edison
31. “You ask me if I keep a notebook to record my great ideas. I’ve only ever had one.” – Albert Einstein
32. “If you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it.” – Thomas Mann
33. “If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it.” – Charles Kettering
34. “A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.” – Mary Kay Ash
35. “Capital isn’t that important in business. Experience isn’t that important. You can get both of these things. What is important is ideas.” – Harvey Firestone
36. “The great accomplishments of man have resulted from the transmission of ideas of enthusiasm.” – Thomas Watson
37. “If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied.” – Alfred Noble
38. “Money never starts an idea; it is the idea that starts the money.” – William J. Cameron
39. “An idea is salvation by imagination.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
40. “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” – Lee Iacocca
41. “The ability to express an idea is well nigh as important as the idea itself.” – Bernard Baruch
42. “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.” – Medgar Evers
Not Inspired Yet?
Maybe you need a little more than quotes to get you going. Fear not. We’ve got you covered. Check out our post on proven ways to spark creativity and generate ideas. With the right mindset and techniques, you can turn even the smallest spark into a roaring flame of creativity. So, go forth, explore, and never stop dreaming up new ideas!
