A Mozart symphony is very much like a Pixar movie - in the sense that Pixar movies are hugely successful because they operate on several levels at the same time. Eric Weiner More Quotes by Eric Weiner More Quotes From Eric Weiner Genius is not only a what or a who, it is a where. It is grounded in a place every single time. Eric Weiner grounded genius That's why we feel so disoriented, irritated even, when these touchstones from our past are altered. We don't like it when our hometown changes, even in small ways. It's unsettling. The playground! It used to be right here, I swear. Mess with our hometown, and you're messing with our past, with who we are. Nobody likes that. Eric Weiner likes way past ..there is more to life than just pleasure. We want to achieve our happiness and not just experience it. Eric Weiner achieve pleasure want The late British-born philosopher Alan Watts, in one of his wonderful lectures on eastern philosophy, used this analogy: "If I draw a circle, most people, when asked what I have drawn, will say I have drawn a circle or a disc, or a ball. Very few people will say I've drawn a hole in the wall, because most people think of the inside first, rather than thinking of the outside. But actually these two sides go together--you cannot have what is 'in here' unless you have what is out there.' " In other words, where we are is vital to who we are. Eric Weiner wall philosophy thinking You need some reason why Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn in the 18th century all flocked to Vienna. What was it about Vienna? They must have known on some level that that is where they would flourish. It's what biologists call "selective migration." Eric Weiner vienna levels needs Some places are like family. They annoy us to no end, especially during the holidays, but we keep coming back for more because we know, deep in our hearts, that our destinies are intertwined. Eric Weiner holiday destiny heart Until the eighteenth century, people believed that biblical paradise, the Garden of Eden, was a real place. It appeared on maps--located, ironically, at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now modern-day Iraq. Eric Weiner biblical garden real a simple question to identify your true home: where do you want to die? Eric Weiner simple want home Happiness is not a noun or a verb. It's a conjunction. Connective tissue. Eric Weiner tissues nouns verbs There's no one on the island telling them they're not good enough, so they just go ahead and sing and paint and write. Eric Weiner not-good-enough islands writing Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, none of them were born in Vienna. They all moved there. It became a magnet, but what made it magnetized in the first place? There has to be a seed there. In the case of Vienna of about 1780, it was this deep-seated love of music. Eric Weiner vienna music-love firsts Someone like Mozart moves from Salzburg to Vienna, where all of the sudden he finds this musical city that is not only asking for music, it's demanding music of him. Eric Weiner musical cities moving Music was literally in the air at the time, the Vienna of 1780. Everybody played music, classical music. There were in fact so many musicians that in apartment buildings people had to come up with a schedule - you practice at 5 p.m., I'll practice at 6 p.m. That way the music didn't collide with one another. Eric Weiner practice air people The creative act always requires a stepping back. It's called the incubation period. The incubation period - one of the four phases of creativity - is when you're not consciously thinking of a problem, and you're letting it marinate. So this is why you hear time and again, people saying they had that "Eureka" moment in the bath, like Archimedes, or in the shower, or while going for a walk or in a coffeehouse. Eric Weiner creativity people thinking I'm interested in genius the way a hungry man is interested in Philadelphia cheesesteaks. I want something. I want a piece of it. Eric Weiner philadelphia want-something men Don't forget that Mozart worked on commission. He almost always would write something if he knew exactly who was paying for it and where it would be performed. So you can't really separate the creation of genius from the appreciation of it. Eric Weiner genius writing appreciation
