A perfectly phrased quote from a visionary like Steve Jobs or Haruki Murakami crystallizes an approach to innovation and creativity that shakes me out of conventional thinking.

Visionaries like them have had the power to use phrases capable of changing attitudes and paradigms. Well-aimed aphorisms that pierce prevailing notions and clear the way for new directions.

A quote from a brilliant mind motivates me to keep questioning reality, challenge assumptions and not be constrained by how things are.

These verbal formulas for creativity and nonconformity stick with me like mantras and guide me to think harder and entertain entirely new possibilities.

“Trust is a confident relationship with the unknown” - Rachel Botman

"Don’t depend too much on anyone in this world because even your own shadow leaves you when you are in darkness.” - Unknown

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” - Haruki Murakami

“Stars can't shine without darkness...” - Unknown

“We are driven into wild rage by our luxurious lives, so that whatever does not answer our whims, arouses our anger.” – Seneca

Here’s to the Crazy Ones:

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things, they push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” - The Misfits Ad

Steve Jobs

However you felt about him, Steve Jobs created a legacy that lives well beyond his death.

On Living Life to its Fullest

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” - Steve Jobs

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” - Steve Jobs

Believing in Yourself

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.” - Steve Jobs

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life and karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” - Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech 2005

“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” - Steve Jobs

Apple

“Bottom line is, I didn’t return to Apple to make a fortune. I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence.” - Steve Jobs

“I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.” - Steve Jobs

Think Different

“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” - Steve Jobs

A Random Provocation

In 1888, cough syrup produced in Baltimore contained the following ingredients: alcohol, cannabis, chloroform, and morphine. In less than a decade, Bayer successfully synthesized aspirin and heroin. Heroin, derived from the German word "heroisch" meaning "heroic," was marketed by Bayer as a less addictive cough suppressant than morphine.

If you were to open the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica from 1910 and look up "morphine," you'd find the following passage: "In the cough of phthisis, minute doses of morphine are of service, but in this particular disease, morphine is frequently better replaced by codeine or by heroin, which checks irritable coughs without the narcotism following upon the administration of morphine."

In 1924, the US Congress banned the selling, manufacturing, and importing of heroin due to its high addiction rate. Bayer lost its trademark rights to heroin and aspirin in 1919, following Germany's defeat in World War 1.