No one wants to hear everything that's in your head. They just want you to live up to what comes out of your mouth.
Adam GrantRead
Originals are nonconformists, people who not only have new ideas but take action to champion them. They are people who stand out and speak up. Originals drive creativity and change in the world. They're the people you want to bet on.
Interpretation
Originals are innovators who challenge the norm and actively pursue their unique ideas.
In this quote, Adam Grant emphasizes the importance of originality and nonconformity in driving creativity and change. Originals are those who not only conceive novel ideas but also take the initiative to bring them to life, making significant contributions to society and inspiring others to think differently.
In practice
This quote can be shared in a workshop about creativity and innovation.
No one wants to hear everything that's in your head. They just want you to live up to what comes out of your mouth.
In the eyes of many people, giving doesn't count unless it's completely selfless. In reality, though, giving isn't sustainable when it's completely selfless.
When you procrastinate, you're more likely to let your mind wander. That gives you a better chance of stumbling onto the unusual and spotting unexpected patterns.
We have many identities, and we can't be authentic to them all. The best we can do is be sincere in our efforts to earn the values we claim.
We all have thoughts and feelings that we believe are fundamental to our lives but that are better left unspoken.
You want people who choose to follow because they genuinely believe in ideas, not because they're afraid to be punished if they don't. For startups, there's so much pivoting that's required that if you have a bunch of sheep, you're in bad shape.
One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
The creative process requires more than reason. Most original thinking isn't even verbal. It requires 'a groping experimentation with ideas, governed by intuitive hunches and inspired by the unconscious.' The majority of business men are incapable of original thinking because they are unable to escape from the tyranny of reason. Their imaginations are blocked.
You can only generate ideas when you put pencil to paper, brush to canvas... when you actually do something physical.
If you know what you're looking for, that's all you'll get - what's previously known. But when you're open to what's possible, you get something new - that's creativity.
Creativity is the ability to identify self-imposed constraints, remove them, and explore the consequences of their removal.
Ideas are cheap. Always be passionate about ideas and communicating those ideas and discoveries to others in the things you make.
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