A Quote by Keith Johnstone

At school any spontaneous act was likely to get me into trouble. I learned never to act on impulse, and that whatever came into my mind first should be rejected in favour of better ideas. I learned that my imagination Wasn’t ‘good’ enough. I learned that the first idea was unsatisfactory because it was (1) psychotic; (2) obscene; (3) unoriginal. The truth is that the best ideas are often psychotic, obscene and unoriginal.

Keith Johnstone

Quote Topics

Act Any Because Best Better Came Enough Favour First Get Good Idea Ideas Imagination Impulse Learned Likely Me Mind My Imagination Never Obscene Often Psychotic Rejected School Should Spontaneous Trouble Truth Truth Is Whatever

Quote Author

Keith Johnstone
British - Playwright
Born: 1933

Truth is that the best ideas are often psychotic, obscene and unoriginal.

Keith Johnstone

I learned many lessons from my first race with my heroes. I learned it was easier to breathe when I cried, so I cried often and without shame. I learned that a teammate's faith in you can propel you up any mountain. I learned that winning requires an entirely different mind-set than not losing. I learned that the best teams in the world share not only their strengths but also their weaknesses. I learned that you don't inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are.

Robyn Benincasa

Separate out the creative act from the act of editing and execution. Make it a two-step process. First, let ideas flow and encourage EVERY idea to make it to the whiteboard. Don't criticize, judge, edit, budget, or worry. An idea on the wall can't hurt anyone, so let them rip without restriction. After any and all ideas have the opportunity to "come out to play", only then should you apply your analytical and logical side to the effort. Don't mix the creative process with the editing process or you'll kill your ideas before they even get a fighting chance.

Josh Linkner

It's very easy to overproduce stuff and you can forget those first spontaneous ideas are often the best ideas.

Trentemøller

You've learned the lessons well. You first learned to live on less than you earn. Next you learned to seek advice from those who are competent. Lastly, you've learned to make gold work for you.

George S. Clason

I'm a comedian first. I've learned how to act. I just draw on life experiences and that's how I've learned. I didn't take classes or anything. I don't need no classroom.

Steve Harvey

Advice to first year medical students: In anatomy, it is better to have learned and lost than never to have learned at all.

W. Somerset Maugham

We must not forget that the wheel is reinvented so often because it is a very good idea; I've learned to worry more about the soundness of ideas that were invented only once.

David Parnas

I learned to never quit, and academics always come first. I had to make sure to get my degree, because I learned that athletic ability and sports don't last forever.

Arthur Jones

I went to graduate school and paid good money to get an education that's worth something, but I learned more in the first six months at Wal-Mart than I learned in 5 1/2 years of post-secondary education.

Doug McMillon

I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my druthers, it would never have been changed at all. What I learned from it is that today seems to be the hardest lesson of all. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and to try to give some of it back because I believed in it completely and utterly.

Anna Quindlen

I've learned a lot this year.. I learned that things don't always turn our the way you planned, or the way you think they should. And I've learned that there are things that go wrong that don't always get fixed or get put back together the way they were before. I've learned that some broken things stay broken, and I've learned that you can get through bad times and keep looking for better ones, as long as you have people who love you.

Jennifer Weiner

There can be a wrong time - it's happened to countless bands where they release their first record on a major label and never learned what they maybe should have learned on an indie.

Brian Fallon

A good way to have good ideas is by being unoriginal.

Bram Cohen

I felt as if I learned a few things. I learned that it's sometimes okay to think like a weenie, so long as you don't act like one—at least not all the time. I learned that it's okay to be wrong, as long as you can admit it and are willing to listen to those who may know better.