When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
Shimon PeresRead
In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation, we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of creativity and intellectual resources in overcoming challenges.
Shimon Peres highlights how, in a country with limited natural resources like Israel, the true strength lies in human intellect and creativity. By utilizing innovation, Israel has transformed its environment and achieved remarkable advancements in various fields, demonstrating the power of the mind to drive progress and change.
In practice
In a presentation on innovation, I shared a quote by Shimon Peres about the power of the mind.
When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
I didn't plan to be a politician. The founder of our country, David Ben-Gurion, called me from the kibbutz to serve in the underground. We were short of manpower, short of arms. I was 24 years old. I was supposed to serve my country for one or two years. I am 89 years old this year, and I keep going.
The United States is the only power in history that became great by giving and not by taking. I think the crisis was when the United States had more money than ideas. Money doesn't produce money. Ideas produce money.
The problem of the Middle East is poverty more than politics.
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing, the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
Early in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital.
Innovative ideas are rarely rejected on their merits; they’re rejected because of how they make people feel. If you forget people’s concerns and feelings when you present an innovation, or neglect to understand their perspectives in your design, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
Innovation is not born from the dream, innovation is born from the struggle
My definition of 'innovative' is providing value to the customer.
You want to look at what other companies are doing. It's very important not to be hermetically sealed. But you don't want to look at it as if, 'OK, we're going to copy that.' You want to look at it and say, 'That's very interesting. What can we be inspired to do as a result of that?' And then put your own unique twist on it.
We always say Jordan is not rich in natural resources - we don't have oil or gas like some of our neighbors do - but I think in terms of human resources, we are quite lucky and we are really trying to foster an environment of innovation and technology. I think Jordan will emerge as a center of innovation in the Middle East.
Creativity is every company's first driver. It's where everything starts, where energy and forward motion originate. Without that first charge of creativity, nothing else can take place.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.