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If you know what you’re looking for, that’s all you’ll get – what’s previously known. But when you’re open to what’s possible, you get something new – that’s creativity.

Alan Alda

When I’m willing to let them change me, something happens between us that’s more interesting than a pair of dueling monologues.
ALAN ALDA

Change Duet Happen Interest More Pair Something Willing
Remarkably, according to what they told me, nearly every inmate in the prison didn’t do it.
ALAN ALDA

According Every Inmate Nearly Prison Remarkable Told
One day, though, I realized I was no longer a believer, and realizing that, I couldn’t go back.
ALAN ALDA

Back Believer Day Go Longer One Realize
When your kids turn 13, an alien being invades their bodies and doesn’t leave until they’re 20.
ALAN ALDA

Alien Body Kid Leave Thirteen Turn Until Twenty
Musicals are hard for me because I got thrown out of the glee club in high school, because I couldn’t sing in tune at the time.
ALAN ALDA

Club Glee High Musical School Thrown Time Tune
A really great actor, in a lucky performance, can transform himself or herself. I’ve seen actors do that.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Great Herself Itself Lucky Performance Really Transform
I used to be a Catholic. I left because I object to conversion by concussion. If you don’t agree with what they teach, you get clobbered over the head until you do. All that does is change the shape of the head.
ALAN ALDA

Concussion Conversion Left Object Religious Use
Eventually, I found a radical way of thinking about listening. Real listening is a willingness to let the other person change you.
ALAN ALDA

Change Eventually Found Listen Radical Think Willingness
As an artist, as an actor, as a writer, you have to use what’s personal to you. You have to be personal about your work; otherwise, it doesn’t ring true.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Artist Personal Use Writer
Don’t ever aim doubt at yourself. Laugh at yourself, but don’t doubt yourself.
ALAN ALDA

Aim Doubt Laugh Yourself
Why do ordinary people become the target of this curiosity simply by virtue of the fact that other people recognize their names and faces but know nothing else about them? Why do we care what they think, what they wear, what they eat?
ALAN ALDA

Act Care Curiosity Eat Face Name Nothing Ordinary People Recognize Simply Target Virtue Wear
I’m very interested in the improvisation because one of the things I do is to help train scientists to communicate in a better way and more personal way when they’re making a presentation, and I use improvisation to do that.
ALAN ALDA

Better Communicate Improvisation Interest One Personal Presentation Scientist Thing Train Use Way
My relationship with science is as someone who’s curious and hungry to know, hungry to understand. So all I have to offer is my ignorance and my curiosity, which is a good combination, as long as they come together.
ALAN ALDA

Curious Hungry Relationship Science Someone Understand
After a while I started to think of that as an image of something that went a lot deeper than the dead dog, which is you can’t bring back anything to life.
ALAN ALDA

Anything Back Bring Dead Deeper Dog Image Something Start Think
It’s always better to be wise than to be smart.
ALAN ALDA

Always Better Smart Wise
I would box them into a corner with a badly formed question, and they didn’t know how to get out of it. Now, I let them take me through it step by step, and I listen.
ALAN ALDA

Badly Box Corner Form Get Listen Out Question Step
Selling out was frowned on, whereas now you can major in it at business school.
ALAN ALDA

Business Frown Major Out School Sell
It’s nice to have more time to work on the character, and to have big scenes to play. But if there’s something playable there, and if it’s interesting to do, then that’s nice.
ALAN ALDA

Big Character Interset More Nice Play Playable Scene Time Work
I had never really wanted to be famous. Everyone is supposed to want to be rich and famous, but as a boy I never knew what rich was, and the first view I had of famous made me leery.
ALAN ALDA

Everyone Famous First Leery Really Suppose View Want
People who laugh together generally don’t kill each other.
ALAN ALDA

Each Kill Laugh Other People Together
Kids are natural scientists.
ALAN ALDA

Kid Natural Scientist
My mother didn’t try to stab my father until I was six, but she must have shown signs of oddness before that.
ALAN ALDA

Before Father Mother Oddness Shown Sign Six Stab Until
I have thought about punching people out. Sometimes, I’ve thought, ‘Why don’t I just act on that impulse?’ But then, I’ve never hit anybody in anger. Hey! I’ve never hit anybody for fun.
ALAN ALDA

Act Impulse Nobody People Punch Something
The other one, and probably an equal pleasure, is finding out how I can be helpful and then really being helpful.
ALAN ALDA

Equal Helpful One Other Pleasure Probably
I let a tarantula walk across my hand, and I ate rat soup.
ALAN ALDA

Across Hand Ate Let Rat Soup Tarantula
If you know what you’re looking for, that’s all you’ll get – what’s previously known. But when you’re open to what’s possible, you get something new – that’s creativity.
ALAN ALDA

Creative Know Look New Possible Previous Something
You’ll be a lot less likely to be caught up in bias or prejudice or be influenced by people who ask you to hand over your brains, your soul or your money because they have everything all figured out for you.
ALAN ALDA

Brain Everything Figure Hand Influence Less Money Out Over Prejudice Soul

If you know what you’re looking for, that’s all you’ll get – what’s previously known. But when you’re open to what’s possible, you get something new – that’s creativity.

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If you know what you’re looking for, that’s all you’ll get – what’s previously known. But when you’re open to what’s possible, you get something new – that’s creativity.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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