Edward de Bono

Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.

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 need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas.

If you wait for opportunities to occur, you will be one of the crowd.

An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.

To be successful you have to be lucky, or a little mad, or very talented, or find yourself in a rapid growth field.

Humor is probably the most significant characteristics of the human mind. Far more significant than reason. In fact, reason is actually a very cheap commodity.

Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists.

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Logic will never change emotion or perception.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

I think there is a danger with young people of being dependent in the sense that they don't acquire any identity or self-image of themselves as thinkers.

What the joke displays is a switch in perception. This is important in changing the way we think.

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.

In the future, instead of striving to be right at a high cost, it will be more appropriate to be flexible and plural at a lower cost. If you cannot accurately predict the future then you must flexibly be prepared to deal with various possible futures.