Albert Einstein – Imagination For Writers and Other Good Stuff

For today’s show – don’t tell, I bring you this video. It’s far more than I can ever write or say.

Kill Zoners – What words of wisdom, imagination, and other good stuff would you like to share?

25 thoughts on “Albert Einstein – Imagination For Writers and Other Good Stuff

  1. “A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.” ⸺Barnett Cocks

    “What humbugs we are, who pretend to live for Beauty, and never see the Dawn!” ⸺Logan Pearsall Smith

    “Ninety percent of the most puzzling human behaviours are explicable by projection, an overwhelming preference for the familiar, and an autonomous and conscienceless Unconscious.” ⸺Damson Greengage.

    “Ships that pass in the night and speak each other in passing ❦ Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness ❦ So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another ❦ Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.” ⸺Longfellow,

    “The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant friendly party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away.” ⸺Emerson

    “…I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two.” ⸺RLS

    “A poem begins with a lump in the throat.” ⸺Robert Frost,

    “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” ⸺Kahlil Gibran”

  2. Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone … Jim Fiebig

    You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never repay you … John Wooden

    Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing … Harriet B. Braiker

  3. Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
    Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.
    Solomon (Proverbs 3: 3-4)

  4. Each morning I read the chapter in the book of Proverbs that corresponds to the day’s date. From today’s reading, Proverbs 1, is this quote:
    “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” — Proverbs 1:7

    Another favorite is:
    “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
    reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” — Proverbs 9:8 (I try to keep this one in mind when I get feedback from my editor. 🙂 )

    Another great quote from Albert Einstein:
    “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

  5. Loved these quotes, Garry! Thanks for sharing . . .

    One of my fave quotes is this: Don’t squat with your spurs on.

    Don’t know who said it, but it covers a multitude of life experiences, I think.

    🙂

  6. I have several I keep handy. Here are a few:
    Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society. The social ramble ain’t restful.
    Don’t look back. Something might be gaining on you.
    – Satchel Paige

    There are old pilots and bold pilots, but no old, bold pilots.

    Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble. – Sir. Henry Royce.

    Shit happens, and it doesn’t mean it’s somebody’s fault. – Eric Fiore.
    You probably don’t know Eric. He was a test pilot for Bombardier who was killed on October 10, 2000 on a test flight. Eric’s wife wrote a biography of their life together. Eric and Carol were my classmates in college.
    https://www.amazon.com/Flight-through-Fire-Carol-Fiore-ebook/dp/B00IPIMLB0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WFJRAX2RV1DY&keywords=flight+through+fire+carol+fiore&qid=1669910979&sprefix=flight+through+fire+carol+fiore%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-1

    • Hi Alan – You recommended this book a few weeks ago. I’ve meant to download and read it. Thanks for the reminder. Further to pilots, I have a poster in my studio with the quote, “You don’t stop flying when you get old. You get old when you stop flying.”

      • I did. It is a powerful book. One of the lessons of airplane schools was, “Federal Air Regulations are written on tombstones. Your job is to follow, not write FARs.”

        Eric’s crash resulted in a new regulation.

  7. I’ve known this one since childhood: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

    And this one since I was an adult: A giraffe is a horse that a committee got hold of.

    Love all these quotes!

  8. The voice is Epic Voice Guy, aka Jon Bailey.

    Here are two writing quotes I use at the end of each writing seminar.

    “I’m just starting [a new book] and the battle has already begun. I don’t think they ever go smoothly. It’s work. It should be work. It should be hard work. I think if you sort of sit around and wait to be inspired, you’re probably going to be sitting there a long time. My process is more about crafting, working an idea through my head to see if it’s a good concept.” Nora Roberts in an interview with the “Hagerstown Herald-Mail.”

    “Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.” THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho

  9. Something I read today about our craft by the poet Charles Bukowski:

    “…(d}on’t be like so many writers,
    don’t be like so many thousands of
    people who call themselves writers,
    don’t be dull and boring and
    pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
    love.
    the libraries of the world have
    yawned themselves to
    sleep
    over your kind.
    don’t add to that.”

    • There’s a lot to be said for fearless writing, Robert. There’s a Stephen King quote that gores, “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, then your days as a member of polite society are over.”

  10. Terrific, inspiring quotes from Einstein and fellow commenters here today.

    A paraphrase from Epictetus has become a quote giving me solace when grieving for those I’ve lost: “Remember, you love a mortal.”

    “Writers live twice.” — Natalie Goldberg

    Keep on having great days, Garry!

    • Hi Dale! By any chance, do you follow Ryan Holiday at The Daily Stoic? He often quotes Epictetus. I just had a momentary flash – is that where the word “epic” comes from?

      • I don’t follow Daily Stoic (need to rectify that ASAP :-), but I have read some of Ryan Holiday’s posts on stoicism in the past. I love the idea of epic coming from Epictetus, but alas, his name means “acquired” in Ancient Greek, since he was a slave. The root meaning of our word “epic” however is “to speak,” so there’s definitely a connection in my mind, since he spoke and spoke with great meaning.

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