Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways. Roger von Oech More Quotes by Roger von Oech More Quotes From Roger von Oech 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. Roger von Oech failure business work Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be. Roger von Oech looks world thinking Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they both are products of the same process. Roger von Oech opposites people thinking By the time the average person finishes college, he or she will have taken over 2,600 tests, quizzes, and exams. The right answer approach becomes deeply ingrained in our thinking. This may be fine for some mathematical problems where there is in fact only one right answer. The difficulty is that most of life isn’t this way. Life is ambiguous; there are many right answers- all depending on what you’re looking for. But if you think there is only one right answer, then you’ll stop looking as soon as you find one. Roger von Oech taken college life If you fall in love with an idea, you won't see the merits of alternative approaches-and will probably miss an opportunity or two. One of life's great pleasures is letting go of a previously cherished idea. Then you're free to look for new ones. What part of your idea are you in love with? What would happen if you kissed it goodbye? Roger von Oech falling-in-love letting-go goodbye It's important for the explorer to be willing to be led astray. Roger von Oech exploration willing important 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. Roger von Oech trying-something-new inspirational new-day It's easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worked for you two years ago, but will soon be out-of-date. Roger von Oech creativity letting-go inspirational If you make an error, use it as a stepping stone to a new idea you might not have otherwise discovered. Roger von Oech errors use ideas Flexibility is a requirement for survival. Roger von Oech flexibility requirements survival We grow up thinking that the best answer is in someone else's brain. Much of our education is an elaborate game of 'guess what's in the teacher's head?' What the world really needs to know right now is what kind of dreams and ideas are in your head. Roger von Oech growing-up dream teacher What excuses stand in your way? How can you eliminate them? Roger von Oech excuse way The hallmark of creative people is their mental flexibility... Sometimes they are open and probing, at others they're playful and off-the-wall. At still other times, they're critical and faultfinding. And finally they're doggedly persistent in striving to reach their goals. Roger von Oech wall goal people When everyone thinks alike, no one is doing very much thinking. Roger von Oech thinking There is a close relationship between the "ha-ha" of humor and the "aha!" of discovery. Roger von Oech close-relationship discovery Look for the second right answer. Roger von Oech right-answers answers looks New ideas are not born in a conforming environment. Roger von Oech environment born ideas Life is like a maze in which you try to avoid the exit. Roger von Oech life-is-like trying inspirational Going to a junkyard is a sobering experience. There you can see the ultimate destination of almost everything we desired. Roger von Oech junkyard ultimate destination Here's my advice: Go ahead and be whacky. Get into a crazy frame of mind and ask what's funny about what you're doing. Roger von Oech crazy mind advice