Possibilities play a much bigger role in thinking than most people believe. Without possibilities you cannot make progress. Edward de Bono More Quotes by Edward de Bono More Quotes From Edward de Bono What is urgent will always take precedence over what is important. Edward de Bono urgentprecedenceimportant The weapons of the positive revolution are not bullets and bombs but simple human perceptions. Bullets and bombs may offer physical power but eventually will only work if they change perceptions and values. Why not go the direct route and work with perceptions and values? Edward de Bono why-notperceptionsimple People should realize we're jerks just like them. Edward de Bono jerkrealizingpeople This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . Edward de Bono inspirationjusticewar One can think of a secretary actively operating a filing system, of a librarian actively cataloguing books, of a computer actively sorting out information. The mind however does not actively sort out information. The information sorts itself out and organises itself into patterns. The mind is passive. The mind only provides an opportunity for the information to behave in this way. The mind provides a special environment in which information can become self-organising. This special environment is a memory surface with special characteristics. Edward de Bono memoriesbookthinking The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. Edward de Bono spiritualitychurchcomfort Analysis is simplifying, breaking down things into parts, picking out strands and elements. Analysis is comparing unknown things with things that are known. Analysis also involves picking out relationships and putting them back together as a whole. Edward de Bono elementsanalysistogether America is an idea, but it's an idea that brings with it some baggage, like power brings responsibility. It's an idea that brings with it equality, but equality even though it's the highest calling, is the hardest to reach. The idea that anything is possible, that's one of the reasons why I'm a fan of America. It's like hey, look there's the moon up there, let's take a walk on it, bring back a piece of it. That's the kind of America that I'm a fan of. Edward de Bono encouragementmoonresponsibility Don't criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one. Edward de Bono criticisehypothesiscome-up A characteristic of intuitive solutions and new ideas is that of being obvious once they are discovered. Edward de Bono obviouscharacteristicsideas In a sense, words are encyclopedias of ignorance because they freeze perceptions at one moment in history and then insist we continue to use these frozen perceptions when we should be doing better. Edward de Bono ignorancewritinghistory Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting. Edward de Bono creativityfuninteresting Creativity and lateral thinking have exactly the same basis as humour. Edward de Bono humourcreativitythinking Teaching thinking for just five hours to unemployed youngsters increased employment 500 percent. Edward de Bono employmentteachingthinking To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable. Edward de Bono skillsshouldthinking Although feelings are not supposed to intrude on business discussions, they do anyway - we just disguise them as logic. Edward de Bono disguiselogicfeelings This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . In these disturbing and distressing times, surely it's cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out of potential enemies than it is to defend yourself against them..Justice is the surest way to get peace. Edward de Bono justicewarenemy In the art world, creativity involves aesthetic sensibility, emotional resonance and a gift for expression. Edward de Bono creativityemotionalart It wouldn't cost too much to change the rules of trade so that poor countries can work their way out of poverty. But the world's leaders won't act unless they hear enough people telling them. And every day they fail to act, thousands of people die because they can't afford the basics of survival. Edward de Bono leadercountrypeople Everywhere I go, I see very much the same thing. I see the same compassion for people who live half a world away. I see the same concern about events beyond these borders. And, increasingly, I see the same conviction that we can and we must join together to stop the scourge of AIDS and poverty. Edward de Bono compassiontogetherpeople
