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Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.

Edward de Bono

It’s always amazed me how little attention philosophers, psychologists, or anyone else actually has paid to humor.
EDWARD DE BONO

Amazing Attention Humor Pay
A good design is not a democratic consensus.
EDWARD DE BONO

Democracy Goodness One Liner
Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Fun Interest Life
The solid wealth of insurance companies and the success of those who organsie gambling are some indication of the profits to be derived from the efficient use of chance.
EDWARD DE BONO

Chance Company Insurance Solid Wealth
Thinking is the ultimate human resource. Yet we can never be satisfied with our most important skill. No matter how good we become, we should always want to be better.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Goodness Human Resource Thinking Ultimate
The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking.
EDWARD DE BONO

Arrogant Effect Sin Thinking Treat
Language is the biggest barrier to human progress because language is an encyclopedia of ignorance. Old perceptions are frozen into language and force us to look at the world in an old fashioned way.
EDWARD DE BONO

Fashion Human Language Progress Way
Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.
EDWARD DE BONO

Best Definition Expectation Happiness Ourselves Talent
We need both information and thinking. Information is no substitute for thinking and thinking is no substitute for information.
EDWARD DE BONO

Information Need Substitute Thinking
The winner is the chef who takes the same ingredients as everyone else and produces the best results.
EDWARD DE BONO

Best Chef Ingredient Result Win
I’m tired of dreaming. I’m into doing at the moment. It’s, like, let’s only have goals that we can go after.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dreams Goal Moments
The simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Focus Powerful Process Simplicity Source
An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
EDWARD DE BONO

Development Existence Ideas
To develop thinking as a skill, it should be deliberate, focused, confident, and enjoyable.
EDWARD DE BONO

Confidence Development Enjoyment Skills
Child mortality since 2000 is down by 2.65 million a year. That’s a rate of 7,256 children’s lives saved each day. It drives me nuts that most people don’t seem to know this news.
EDWARD DE BONO

Children Live News People
Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.
EDWARD DE BONO

Logic Mistake Thinking
Dealing with complexity is an inefficient and unnecessary waste of time, attention and mental energy. There is never any justification for things being complex when they could be simple.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attention Deal Mental Energy Necessary Simplicity Time
The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.
EDWARD DE BONO

Mindset Preparation See
The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt.
EDWARD DE BONO

God Music Recognition Run
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.
EDWARD DE BONO

Dangerous Identity Image People Thinking Young
A characteristic of intuitive solutions and new ideas is that of being obvious once they are discovered.
EDWARD DE BONO

Character Discover Ideas Intuition Solution
Possibilities play a much bigger role in thinking than most people believe. Without possibilities you cannot make progress.
EDWARD DE BONO

Play Possible Progress Thinking
An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgements simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attention Expert Ignorance Judgement Pay Success
A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen.
EDWARD DE BONO

Attraction Beautiful Goodness Listening Love Yourself
Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and, where appropriate, profits.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creative Empowerment Learning People Production Profit Skills Thinking
Humor is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.
EDWARD DE BONO

Activity Brain Human Humor
Man owes his success to his creativity. No one doubts the need for it. It is most useful in good times and essential in bad.
EDWARD DE BONO

Bad Creativity Doubt Essential Man Need Success

Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.

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Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort.

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