"You Can Observe a Lot by Watching" and 24 Other Brilliant Answers to a Mind-Boggling Question Published by Walter Burek Submitted: 06 December,2002 "YOU CAN OBSERVE A LOT BY WATCHING" AND 24 OTHER BRILLIANT ANSWERS TO A MIND-BOGGLING QUESTION. It's inevitable. It will happen at work, at a party, or a job interview. Even a client meeting. If you're in the marketing communications biz long enough someone, some time, somewhere is going to ask you the question: "Where do you get your ideas?" The first thing to remember when this happens to you is to remain calm. Nobody who asks this question expects you to bore them to tears by actually discoursing on the "creative process" (which someone once described as "making sausage and you don't want to know.") On the other hand, you don't want to sound totally clueless either. So, here's what to do: Plant your feet firmly, look your questioner in the eye and let one or two of the following witty and wise sayings flow smoothly off your tongue. They're short and sweet -- and guaranteed to make you sound brilliant. And by the way, don't feel guilty about borrowing any of them because, as Voltaire said, "Originality is nothing but judicious imitation." "I don't know where my ideas come from...however ... one key ingredient is caffeine. I get a couple of cups of coffee into me and things just start to happen." - Gary Larson "The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas." - Linus Pauling "I shut my eyes in order to see." - Paul Gaugin "Some men see things as they are and say, why. I dream things that never were and say, why not." - George Bernard Shaw "Eighty percent of success is showing up." - Woody Allen "An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it." - Bill Bernbach "Creativity is really the structuring of magic." - Anne Kent Rush "Life is trying things to see if they work." - Ray Bradbury "Try? There is no try. There is only do or not do." - Yoda (in The Empire Strikes Back) "A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something." - Frank Capra "The art of creation is older than the art of killing." - Andrei Voznesensky "Look and you will find it; what is sought will go undetected. - Sophocles "It's simple. you just take something and do something to it, and then do something else to it. Keep doing this and pretty soon you've got something." - Jasper Johns "The mind is like a parachute; it only works when it is open" - Unknown " Every new idea looks crazy at first." -- Alfred North Whitehead "Je ne cherche pas; je trouve." (I do not seek; I find.) -- Pablo Picasso "Without deviation, progress is not possible" -- Frank Zappa "Lady -- if you don't know, don't mess with it." -- Louis Armstrong (when asked exactly what jazz is) "The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by bordeom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes." - Saul Steinberg "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." - Ralph Waldo Emerson "People learn more from observation than they do from conversation." -- Will Rogers "You can observe a lot by watching" - Yogi Berra (c)Burek Group 2002 You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the byline at the end of this article is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. About the Author Walter is a professional advertising copywriter who writes, edits and publishes "Words @ Work", a FREE bimonthly newsletter of advice and information about writing that works. To view his award-winning portfolio and to subscribe visit www.walterburek.com. You may also subscribe to Words@Work via e-mail to: walter@walterburek.com