Every creative story is different. And every creative story is the same. There was nothing. Now there is something. It's almost like magic.

If you're trying to be more creative, one of the most important things you can do is increase the volume and diversity of the information to which you are exposed.

What you discover when you look at creativity from the perspective of the brain is that it is universal. We're all creative all of the time, we can't help but be creative.

It doesn't matter if people are playing jazz or writing poetry. If they want to be successful, they need to learn how to persist and persevere and keep on working until the work is done... I bet there isn't a single highly successful person who has not depended on grit. Nobody is talented enough to not have to work hard, and that's what grit allows you to do.

A lie told well is just as good as the truth.

Cities force us to interact with strangers and with the strange. They pry the mind open. And that is why they are the idea that has unleashed so many of our new ideas.

While human nature largely determines how we hear the notes, it is nurture that lets us hear the music.