Paul Arden: Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

People are like sheep: they follow the leader, It is the leader who has a point of view about which way they should go. Having an original point of view or angle is a novelty. Recognising its value is intelligent. Having the courage to stand up for it in tlie face of public opinion is what makes you a winner.

Page 82

Good art speaks for itself. That doesn’t mean you have to like it. So the next time you go to an art show, or look at anything for that matter, observe what effect it has on you and try to form your own opinion. That way you become the critic and not a mouthpiece for someone else’s opinions.

Page 85

If an idea is not taken up and used as a solution to a problem it has no value. It becomes a non-idea. Lying in a drawer it is useless. Worse than useless, it’s a complete waste of space. Ideas have to be applied before they are recognized as good ideas. Even a bad idea executed Is better than a good idea undone. The longer it is used the better the idea is considered to be. That is why the wheel is reckoned to be the best idea ever.

Page 90

Having too many ideas is not always a good thing. It’s too easy to move on to the next one, and the next one. If you don’t have many ideas, you have to make those you do have
work for you.

Page 92

It is better to live in ignorance than with knowledge. Solving the problem is the exciting part, not knowing the answer. Once a conjuring trick is explained it loses its magic. The excitement of a game of football is in not knowing who is going to be the winner. Some people have success and rest on their laurels. The lucky ones continue to live in ignorance.

Page 113

In order to succeed in your failure, you have to think of your failed situation as a good place to start from.

Page 115