Happiness is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated , and defended privately by each person.

Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one What counts is whether the novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion in the domain.

One cannot lead a life that is truly excellent without feeling that one belongs to something greater and more permanent than oneself.

Good design is a visual statement that maximizes the life goals of the people in a given culture (or, more realistically, the goals of a certain subset of people in the culture) that draws on a shared symbolic expression for the ordering of such goals.

Each of us is born with two contradictory sets of instructions: a conservative tendency, made up of instincts for self-preservation, self-aggrandizement, and saving energy, and an expansive tendency made up of instincts for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk-the curiosity that leads to creativity belongs to this set. But whereas the first tendency requires little encouragement or support from outside to motivate behaviour, the second can wilt if not cultivated.

I think that evolution has had a hand in selecting people who had a sense of doing something beyond themselves.

When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.