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They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all.

Edward de Bono

Maybe the social value of truth is as a destination – so long as we do not assume we have arrived there.
EDWARD DE BONO

Arrival Destination Social Truth Value
Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
EDWARD DE BONO

Drive Intelligence People Poor Thinking
Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations.
EDWARD DE BONO

Best Definition Expectation Happiness Ourselves Talent
Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it.
EDWARD DE BONO

Argument Creation Reveal Truth Yourself
Most people are put off science because maths is the gateway and they can’t handle it. What we should be teaching is operational maths because, in general, the maths we need to carry out science is pretty straightforward.
EDWARD DE BONO

Operational People Science Teaching
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
I’m a very loyal and unreliable friend.
EDWARD DE BONO

Friendship Loyalty Myself
Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple.
EDWARD DE BONO

Simplicity Understand
My thinking was taught to tribes in South Africa like the Zulus and Xhosas. At the time there were about 210 fights breaking out among them every month, but after they listened to my lessons, this fell to just four.
EDWARD DE BONO

Fight Lesson Listening Teaching Thinking Time
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
A good design is not a democratic consensus.
EDWARD DE BONO

Democracy Goodness One Liner
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
Happiness is for those who don’t really need it. So I can live without happiness.
EDWARD DE BONO

Happiness Live Myself Need
It is historical continuity that maintains most assumptions, not repeated assessment of their validity.
EDWARD DE BONO

Assume History Maintain Repeat Valid
Mock the devil, and he will flee from thee.
EDWARD DE BONO

Devil Run
If you never change your mind, why have one?
EDWARD DE BONO

Change Mindset Oneself Yourself
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
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Enough Ideas Right Wrong
Don’t criticise a hypothesis, come up with a better one.
EDWARD DE BONO

Better Criticism Oneself
Creative thinking – in terms of idea creativity – is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured.
EDWARD DE BONO

Creativity Ideas Nurture Practice Talent Thinking
To deal with future we have to deal with possibilities. Analysis will only tell us what is.
EDWARD DE BONO

Analysis Deal Future Possible
The system will always be defended by those countless people who have enough intellect to defend but not quite enough to innovate.
EDWARD DE BONO

Count Defend Enough Innovation People System
The effective thinker treats arrogance as the major sin of thinking.
EDWARD DE BONO

Arrogant Effect Sin Thinking Treat
The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future.
EDWARD DE BONO

Determination Future Ourselves Quality Thinking
The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.
EDWARD DE BONO

Car Drive Power Separate
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
What is urgent will always take precedence over what is important.
EDWARD DE BONO

Important Urgent

They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all.

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They enjoy thinking. They enjoy being creative. They enjoy having ideas. Most people do not enjoy thinking at all.

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Popular Authors

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