"Sex breaks" for Office staff proposed by Swedish politician

Workers in a small town in northern Sweden could get more productive after a councillor's proposal for staff 'sex breaks'.

The idea of one-hour paid breaks for workers to go home and get intimate is aimed at improving Swedish couples' relationships, local politician Per-Erik Muskos says.

"There are studies that show sex is healthy," he told AFP news agency.

Couples aren't spending enough time with each other in today's busy world, he says.

He did point out there was no way to prove workers would take the opportunity to jump in the sack, but says they should be trusted with the break.

"You can't guarantee that a worker doesn't go out for a walk instead," he told AFP.

Swedish employees have an envied work-life balance. After Finland and France, they work the fewest hours, compared with the rest of Europe. In 2015, they worked an average of 1685 hours per year.

Newshub.

The Three Laughing Saints ! - Osho

I have heard about three Chinese mystics. Nobody knows their names. They were known only as the 'Three Laughing Saints', because they never did anything else; they simply laughed. They moved from one town to another, laughing. They would stand in the market place and have a good belly laugh. The whole market-place would surround them. All the people would come, shops would close and customers would forget for what they had come. These three people were really beautiful -- laughing and their bellies waving. And then it would become an infection and others would start laughing. Then the whole market-place would laugh.

They had changed the quality of the market. And if somebody would say, 'Say some thing to us,' they would say, 'We have nothing to say. We simply laugh and change the quality.' When just a few moments before, it was an ugly place where people were thinking only of money -- hankering for money, greedy, money the only milieu around -- suddenly these three mad people came and they laughed, and changed the quality of the whole market-place. Now nobody was a customer. Now they had forgotten that they had come to purchase and sell. Nobody bothered about greed. They were laughing and they w ere dancing around these three mad people. For a few seconds a new world opened.

They moved all over China, from place to place, from village to village, just helping people to laugh. Sad people, angry people, greedy people, jealous people: they all started laughing with them. And many felt the key -- you can transform.

Then, in one village it happened that one of the three died. Village people gathered and they said, 'Now there will be trouble. Now we have to see how they laugh. Their friend has died; they must weep.' But when they came, the two were dancing, laughing and celebrating the death. The village people said, 'Now this is too much. This is unmannerly. When a man is dead it is profane to laugh and dance.' They said, 'You don't know what has happened! All three of us were always thinking of who was going to die first. This man has won; we are defeated. The whole life we laughed with him. How can we give him the last send off with anything else? -- we have to laugh, we have to enjoy, we have to celebrate. This is the only farewell that is possible for the man who has laughed his whole life. And if we don't laugh, he will laugh at us and he will think, "You fools! So you have fallen again into the trap?" We don't see that he is dead. How can laughter die, how can life die?'

Laughter is eternal, life is eternal, celebration continues. Actors change but the drama continues. Waves change but the ocean continues. You laugh, you change and somebody else laughs, but laughter continues. You celebrate, somebody else celebrates, but celebration continues. Existence is continuous, it is a container. There is not a single moment's gap in it. But the village people could not understand and they could not participate in the laughter this day.

Then the body was to be burned, and the village people said, 'We will give him a bath as the ritual prescribes.' But those two friends said, 'No, our friend has said, "Don't perform any ritual and don't change my clothes and don't give me a bath. You just put me as I am on the burning pyre." So we have to follow his instructions.'

And then, suddenly, there was a great happening. When the body was put on the fire, that old man had played the last trick. He had hidden many fireworks under his clothes, and suddenly there was diwali! Then the whole village started laughing. These two mad friends were dancing, then the whole village started dancing. It was not a death, it was a new life.

No death is death, because every death opens a new door -- it is a beginning. There is no end to life, there is always a new beginning, a resurrection.

Osho World, October 2007

Five More Minutes !

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.

"He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my son on the swing in the blue sweater." Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. "What do you say we go, Todd?" Todd pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes."

The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. "Time to go now?" Again Todd pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "O.K."

"My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, "My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch him play."

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities? Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today.

Author unknown

82 Key Points to lead a satisfactory and successful life

1. Respect people. Not because you want something from them– because they’re people.
2. Take care of your body. It’s a temple– but don’t make it your idol.
3. Social media is NOT for airing out your dirty laundry.
4. Learn to fact-check, especially what you see online.
5. Learn to listen well, especially when you’re angry.
6. Make friends with people who are different than you.
7. Travel as much and as often as you can–especially internationally. Experience new cultures.travel often
8. Never invalidate someone else’s feelings.
9. Don’t be ashamed of your emotions.
10. Relationships are at the core of being human. Invest in them.
11. Read often. Read fiction and nonfiction. Read authors that you disagree with.
12. Learn to form an argument– not for the sake of arguing, but to know why you believe what you believe.
13. Always argue fairly.
14. Seek to understand first. Everyone has reasons behind their beliefs.
15. Stay away from angry arguments on social media. No one wins.
16. You don’t necessarily have to go to college. Find a passion and decide what fits it best.
17. Find a job that means something to you– not just a job that pays well.
18. Be an artist in whatever profession you choose.
19. Look ahead and set goals. Write them down.
20. Challenge yourself. Leave your comfort zone. Do better next time.
21. Perfection is impossible. Excellence is not.
22. Some subjects in school won’t be relevant to your life. However, your grades and the ability to work hard at something you may not care about, will be.
23. Family comes first.
24. Don’t you dare objectify women.
25. Don’t stereotype people.
26. When you find love, say it. Show it. Hold on to it.
27. Love for intellect, personality, and heart– not for appearance or other superficial traits.
28. Find a life partner who compensates for your flaws and accepts you in spite of them.
29. Don’t rush into marriage.
30. Always tithe. God blesses those who give generously and happily.
31. Accumulate experiences and savings, not things.
32. Commit important things to memory. Don’t rely on Google or your phone for everything.
33. It’s okay to be angry. Just find a healthy outlet for it.
34. Use your voice to speak for those who don’t have one.
35. Use your influence to help, never to control.
36. Competition is good, but not at all costs.
37. Whether you’re rich or poor, be classy.
38. Learn how to talk on the phone. It’s an important skill.
39. Learn the art of conversation. Be friendly. Ask questions.
40. Have a good, solid handshake.
41. Anonymous good deeds are the most rewarding.
42. Think about how your decisions will affect others.
43. Pray first. Pray often.
44. Think your own thoughts. Be original. Be honest.
45. When (not if) people hurt you, don’t let it harden your heart.
46. Think about how younger people view you, and try to set a good example.
47. Never settle, but don’t be so picky that you miss a great opportunity.
48. Words are important. Actions are even more important.
49. Pay attention to the people around you.
50. Try new foods.
51. Engage with art: movies, music, paintings, theatre, poetry. Think about it. Always look for the message.
52. Make decisions with the future in mind, but don’t forget to enjoy the present too.
53. Everything in moderation.
54. Remember the people who help you.
55. Give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove you wrong.
56. Don’t hold grudges. You’re the one who suffers the most when you do.
57. Ask for help when you need it.
58. Find friends that you don’t have to impress.
59. Don’t do things you’ll want to lie about later.
60. Put your dang phone DOWN.
61. Take pictures, but don’t live life from behind a screen.
62. Follow the rules, but it’s okay to ask why they’re there.
63. Be a good leader, and a good follower.
64. Trust your gut. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
65. Admit your mistakes.
66. A lie of omission is still a lie.
67. Repetition is the mother of all learning. (Brought to you by your grandfather, boys.)
68. Maturity is the ability to do something you hate, well. (Also courtesy of your grandfather)
69. You don’t have to agree with someone to love them.
70. Respect your elders.
71. Respect minorities. Listen to their stories.
72. Spend time in nature. Let it inspire you.spend-time-in-nature-let-it-inspire-you
73. Never stop asking questions. Never stop wondering.
74. Go to church, even when you don’t feel like it. Especially when you don’t feel like it. No other institution can offer the hope that a good church does.
75. Give others the spotlight.
76. Complaining will never solve your problem.
77. Do things you might fail at. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you.
78. Learn from failure and try again.
79. Learn when to keep your mouth shut, even if you’re right.
80. Saying “I told you so” never helped anyone. Ever.
81. Don’t sulk when you lose. Don’t gloat when you win.
82. Have a family, however that looks to you. It’s scary and sometimes messy. But it’s also the greatest blessing anyone can have and the greatest investment anyone can make.

What does love mean?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
_____

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8 (Yes Rebecca, I agree.)
_____

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4
_____

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5
_____

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6
_____

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4
_____

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7
_____

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8
_____

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7 (Booby, is it something like, "It is more fun to give than to receive'?)
_____

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6 (Great advise!)
_____

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
Noelle - age 7
_____

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6
_____

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8
_____

"My mommy loves me more than anybody.
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6
_____

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5
_____

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7
_____

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4 (Isn't that called unconditional love?)
_____

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4
_____

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
Karen - age 7
___

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
Mark - age 6
_____

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8 (Great advise, Jessica!)
_____

And the final one -- 

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
"Nothing, I just helped him cry."
_____

A Beautiful Post !!!

Very touching message 👏

A beautiful post ........

There were days when My home used to be filled with laughter, arguments, fights, jokes and loads of mischief.
Books used to be strewn all over the show. Pens and books all over, and clothes messing the rooms, thrown on the beds.
I used to shout at them to tidy up their mess.

In the morning:

One will wake up and say:
Mama I can't find a certain book.
And the other will say: I can't find my perfume,
And one will say: Mama where's my homework.
And  will say: Mama I forgot to complete my homework.

Everyone used to ask about their lost possessions.
And I will say, but take care of your stuff, be responsible, you have to grow up.

And today I stand at the doorway of the room.
The beds are empty.
All the cupboards have only a few pieces of clothes in them.
And what remains is the smell of perfume that lingers in the air.
Everyone had a special smell.
So I take in the smell of their perfume for maybe it will fill the empty ache in my heart.

All I have now is the memory of their laughs and their mischief and their warm hugs.

Today my house is clean and organized and everything is in its place, and it is calm and peaceful.
But it is like a desert with no life in it. Do not become angry with your kids about the mess.

Every time they come to visit and they spend time with us, when they are ready to leave. They pull their bags and it is as if they tug my heart along with it.

They close the door behind them and then I stand still and think of the many times I shouted them to close the doors.

Here I am today, closing my own doors. Nobody opens it besides me. Each one gone to a different city or a different country.
All left to find their own path in life.

They have grown up and I wished that they could stay with me forever.
Dear God
..... Take care of them & all other children wherever they may be , for you are their guide and their protector
  ...and always keep them happy.

Dedicated to all parents...

9 steps can help you detect a lie...

Do you know how to tell if someone is lying to you? These 9 steps can help you detect a lie...watch the video for a more detailed explanation of each step.

 

 Step 1: Watch their hands

Step 2: Follow their eyes

Step 3: Note their words

Step 4: Check their smile

Step 5: Note their posture

Step 6: Pause before responding

Step 7: Note the details

Step 8: Change the subject

Step 9: Teach your liar a lesson

Have you ever caught someone in a lie? How did you know they were lying? How did you react?

5 meaningful ways to express to show your beloved your true feelings

5 meaningful ways to express to show your beloved your true feelings

Marriage Life - Happy Days and Savings

Priya married Hitesh this day. At the end of the wedding party,

Priya’s mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook.

With Rs.1000 deposit amount.

Mother: Priya, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life.

When there’s something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in.

Write down what it’s about next to the line.

The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in.

I’ve done the first one for you today.

Do the others with Hitesh.

When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you’ve had.

Priya shared this with Hitesh when getting home.

They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.

This was what they did after certain time:

- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage

- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Priya

- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali

- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Priya got pregnant

- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted

…. and so on…

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things.

They didn’t talk much.

They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world…. no more love…

Kind of typical nowadays, huh?

One day Priya talked to her Mother:

‘Mom, we can’t stand it anymore. We agree to divorce.

I can’t imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!’

Mother: ‘Sure, girl, that’s no big deal.

Just do whatever you want if you really can’t stand it.

But before that, do one thing first.

Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day?

Take out all money and spend it first.

You shouldn’t keep any record of such a poor marriage.’

Priya thought it was true.

So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account.

While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record.

She looked, and looked, and looked.

Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind.

Her eyes were then filled with tears.

She left and went home.

When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.

The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Priya.

She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record:

‘This is the day I notice how much I’ve loved you thru out all these years.

How much happiness you’ve brought me.’

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.

Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired?

I did not ask.

I believe the money did not matter anymore after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

P.S.: Life is about the moments you create, that u can keep it with you FOREVER. After everything is over, THAT is what we have or what we are left with.

The Benefits Of Good Posture

The Benefits Of Good Posture

Don't complicate your life! Keep it simple

Don't complicate your life! Keep it simple

Life is like that !!! - Very touching story

Very touching story ..

Once upon a time, a boy named Hameed lived in a tiny primitive Moroccan village. He was a moron and all his classmates hated him for his stupidity, especially his teacher Aisha who was always yelling at him, "you are driving me crazy Hameed". 

One day his mother went to check out how is he doing and the teacher Aisha told her honestly that her son is simply a disaster, getting very low marks and that even she had never seen such a dumb boy in her whole career... The mother could not accept such a feed back and not only did she take her son out from that school but she even shifted to another city...

25 years later, that teacher got an incurable cardio disease and all the doctors had strongly advised her to go for an open heart operation which only one surgeon could perform effectively.. 

Left with no other choice she did the surgery and it was successful. When she opened her eyes, she saw a handsome doctor smiling at her. Being under anesthesia effect, she would have loved to thank him but could not talk. He was staring at her face which started turning to blue, she was raising her hand trying to tell him some thing but in vain and she eventually died... The doctor was shocked and was trying hard to understand what just happened; till he turned back and saw our friend Hameed working as a cleaner in that hospital who unplugged the oxygen device to connect his Vaccum Cleaner....

Don't tell me you were thinking that Hameed became a doctor.... :) :p

Top 10 Quotes by "Warren Buffet" for Stock Market Investments

1.    "Successful Investing takes time, discipline and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."


2.    "Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they're doing."



3.     Ignore politics and macroeconomics when picking stocks.



4.    “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”



5.    “If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.”



6.    Don't buy a stock just because everyone hates it.



7.    The best time to buy a company is when it's in trouble.



8.    Buy businesses that can be run by idiots.



9.    Be greedy when others are fearful.



10.  Price and value are not the same

A robbery in China and some Really Good lessons for life

There was this robbery in Guangzhou , the robber shouted to everyone: "All don't move, money belongs to the state, life belongs to you".

Everyone in the bank laid down quietly.

This is called "Mind Changing Concept --> Changing the conventional way of thinking".
-------------------------------------------------
One lady lay on the table provocatively, the robber shouted at her "Please be civilised! This is a robbery and not a rape!"

This is called "Being Professional --> Focus only on what you are trained to do!"
-------------------------------------------------
When the robbers got back, the younger robber (MBA trained) told the older robber (who is only primary school educated), "Big bro, let's count how much we got", the older robber rebutted and said, "You very stupid, so much money, how to count, tonight TV will tell us how much we robbed from the bank!"

This is called "Experience --> nowadays experience is more important than paper qualifications!"
-------------------------------------------------

After the robbers left, the bank manager told the bank supervisor to call the police quickly. The supervisor says "Wait, wait wait, let's put the 5 million RMB we embezzled into the amount the robbers robbed".

This is called "Swim with the tide --> converting an unfavorable situation to your advantage!"
-------------------------------------------------

The supervisor says "It will be good if there is a robbery every month".

This is called "Killing Boredom --> Happiness is most important."
-------------------------------------------------

The next day, TV news reported that 100 million RMB was taken from the bank. The robbers counted and counted and counted, but they could only count 20 million RMB. The robbers were very angry and complained "We risked our lives and only took 20 million RMB, the bank manager took 80 million RMB with a snap of his fingers. It looks like it is better to be educated to be a thief!"

This is called "Knowledge is worth as much as gold !"
-------------------------------------------------

The bank manager was smiling and happy because his loss in the CINOPEC shares are now covered by this robbery.

This is called "Seizing the opportunity --> daring to take risks!"

CREATIVITY and INNOVATION - Quotes

"When all think alike, then no one is thinking."
— Walter Lippman


"Capital isn't so important in business. Experience isn't so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn't any limit to what you can do with your business and your life."
— Harvey Firestone


"Great is the human who has not lost his childlike heart."
— Mencius (Meng-Tse), 4th century BCE


"Doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results, is the definition of crazy."
— Unknown


M. A. Rosanoff: "Mr. Edison, please tell me what laboratory rules you want me to observe."
Edison: "There ain't no rules around here. We're trying to accomplish somep'n!"
— Thomas Edison


"Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted."
— George Kneller


"It isn't the incompetent who destroy an organization. The incompetent never get in a position to destroy it. It is those who achieved something and want to rest upon their achievements who are forever clogging things up."
— F. M. Young


"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


"We all operate in two contrasting modes, which might be called open and closed. The open mode is more relaxed, more receptive, more exploratory, more democratic, more playful and more humorous. The closed mode is the tighter, more rigid, more hierarchical, more tunnel-visioned. Most people, unfortunately spend most of their time in the closed mode. Not that the closed mode cannot be helpful. If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time for considering alternative strategies. When you charge the enemy machine-gun post, don't waste energy trying to see the funny side of it. Do it in the "closed" mode. But the moment the action is over, try to return to the "open" mode—to open your mind again to all the feedback from our action that enables us to tell whether the action has been successful, or whether further action is need to improve on what we have done. In other words, we must return to the open mode, because in that mode we are the most aware, most receptive, most creative, and therefore at our most intelligent."
— John Cleese


"The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."
— Dr. Linus Pauling


"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought."
— Albert von Szent-Gyorgy


"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science."
— Albert Einstein


Without the playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable."
— Carl Jung


"When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: “Only stand out of my light.” Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light."
— John W. Gardner


"To be creative you have to contribute something different from what you've done before. Your results need not be original to the world; few results truly meet that criterion. In fact, most results are built on the work of others."
— Lynne C. Levesque
Breakthrough Creativity


"We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
— T. S. Eliot


"Once we rid ourselves of traditional thinking we can get on with creating the future."
— James Bertrand


"There's a way to do it better—find it."
— Thomas Edison


"The essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail."
— Edwin H. Land


"Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where teacher and pupil are located in the same individual."
— Arthur Koestler


"There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns."
— Edward de Bono


"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found."
— James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)


"The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth-century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging, and hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six months, or six years down the road. But he has faith that it will happen."
— Carl Ally


"The things we fear most in organizations—fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances—re the primary sources of creativity."
— Margaret J. Wheatley


"Too much of our work amounts to the drudgery of arranging means toward ends, mechanically placing the right foot in front of the left and the left in front of the right, moving down narrow corridors toward narrow goals. Play widens the halls. Work will always be with us, and many works are worthy. But the worthiest works of all often reflect an artful creativity that looks more like play than work."
— James Ogilvy


"The achievement of excellence can only occur if the organization promotes a culture of creative dissatisfaction."
— Lawrence Miller


"When the 'weaker' of the two brains (right and left) is stimulated and encouraged to work in cooperation with the stronger side, the end result is a great increase in overall ability and ... often five to ten times more effectiveness."
— Professor Robert Ornstein, University of California


"Innovation— any new idea—by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience."
— Warren Bennis


The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away."
— Linus Pauling


"The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions."
— Anthony Jay


"Success is on the far side of failure."
— Thomas Watson Sr.


"You don't understand anything unless you understand there are at least 3 ways."
— M. Minsky


"To have a great idea, have a lot of them."
— Thomas Edison


"Companies have to nurture [creativity and motivation]—and have to do it by building a compassionate yet performance-driven corporate culture. In the knowledge economy the traditional soft people side of our business has become the new hard side."
— Gay Mitchell
Executive VP, HR, Royal Bank


"That so few now dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of our time."
— John Stuart Mill


“Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits.”
— Edward de Bono


"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
— Albert Einstein


"Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity."
— Chuck Jones
Warner Bros. animator


"An inventor is simply a person who doesn't take his education too seriously. You see, from the time a person is six years old until he graduates from college he has to take three or four examinations a year. If he flunks once, he is out. But an inventor is almost always failing. He tries and fails maybe a thousand times. It he succeeds once then he's in. These two things are diametrically opposite. We often say that the biggest job we have is to teach a newly hired employee how to fail intelligently. We have to train him to experiment over and over and to keep on trying and failing until he learns what will work."
— Charles Kettering

"All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise we would never have anything new."
— Charles Kettering


"Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport."
— Robert Wieder


"He who would be a man must therefore be a non-conformist."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson


"Discoveries are often made by not following instructions, by going off the main road, by trying the untried."
— Frank Tyger
"The law of floatation was not discovered by contemplating the sinking of things, but by contemplating the floating of things which floated naturally, and then intelligently asking why they did so."
— Thomas Troward
The Dore Lectures on Mental Science 1909


"Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction."
— Picasso


"If you do not the expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail."
— Heraclitus


"The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive. Great Groups offer a new model in which the leader is an equal among Titans. In a truly creative collaboration, work is pleasure, and the only rules and procedures are those that advance the common cause."
— Warren Bennis


"Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
— Thomas Edison


"The business world sees a measurable and growing intelligence gap - with need for intellectual expertise constantly expanding. Available talent is decreasing even though the population is increasing. Being bombarded with information - be it in Nintendo or shogi - and being able to process it, find patterns etc., is a vital skill. One way to increase this talent potential is through games."
— Leif Edvinson
Skandia at the MindSports Olympiad 1997


"Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats."
— Howard Aiken


"Some men look at things the way they are and ask why? I dream of things that are not and ask why not?"
— Robert Kennedy


"In every work of genius, we recognize our once rejected thoughts."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson


"The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants."
— Roger von Oech


"Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things."
— Theodore Levitt


"Innovation is the process of turning ideas into manufacturable and marketable form."
— Watts Humprey


"The innovation point is the pivotal moment when talented and motivated people seek the opportunity to act on their ideas and dreams."
— W. Arthur Porter


Creativity Killers:

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
— Charles H. Duell, Director of US Patent Office 1899

"Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."
— Grover Cleveland, 1905

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
— Harry M. Warner, Warner Bros Pictures, 1927

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom."
— Robert Miliham, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible."
— Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, 1895

"Ruth made a big mistake when he gave up pitching."
— Tris Speaker, 1921

"The horse is here today, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad."
— President of Michigan Savings Bank advising against investing in the Ford Motor Company

"Video won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
— Daryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, commenting on television in 1946

"What use could the company make of an electric toy?"
— Western Union, when it turned down rights to the telephone in 1878


"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation."
— Peter Drucker


"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions"
— Albert Einstein


"I roamed the countryside searching for the answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with the imprints of coral and plant and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts a longer time than that which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lightening becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life."
— Leonardo da Vinci


"Slaying sacred cows makes great steaks."
— Dick Nicolose


"In the modern world of business it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman."
— David M. Ogilvy


"Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren't there before."
— Margaret J. Wheatley
Leadership and the New Science


"When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time. It is this absorption in what you are doing that frees your unconscious and releases your creative imagination."
— Dr. Rollo May


"A person might be able to play without being creative, but he sure can't be creative without playing."
— Kurt Hanks and Jay Parry


"The achievement of excellence can occur only if the organization promotes a culture of creative dissatisfaction."
— Lawrence Miller


"Replace either/or thinking with plus thinking."
— Craig Hickman


"[I]in 1913, the first assembly line was implemented at Ford Motor Company. The process grew like a vine and eventually spread to all phases of the manufacture of Ford cars, and then through the entire world of heavy industry. There can be no doubt that a powerful revolution occurred at Highland Park—but it was not the assembly line itself that provided the power. Rather, it was the creation of an atmosphere in which improvement was the real product: a better, cheaper, Model T followed naturally. Every man on the payroll was invited to contribute ideas, and the good ones were implemented without delay."
— Douglas Brinkley
Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and A Century of Progress


"Observe what is with undivided awareness."
— Bruce Lee


"History can’t give attention to what’s been lost, hidden, or deliberately buried; it is mostly a telling of success, not the partial failures that enabled success."
— Scott Berkun


"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
— Albert Einstein
On Science


"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."
— Erich Fromm


"It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you."
— Tony Benn
British politician, in the Observer


"The world is but a canvas to our imaginations."
— Henry David Thoreau


"Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything."
— George Lois


"If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original."
— Sir Ken Robinson


"The joy is in creating, not maintaining."
— Vince Lombardi


"Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could not be done."
— Sam Ewing