In The Company Of Ideas

MUSINGS

IDEAS
The quest for ideas separates humans from other living creatures, as far of we know. Nowadays, with the Internet, that exploration is far easier yet infinitely more difficult.
For example:
On Sunday, September 11, 2011, a date tied to many memorable quotes and ideas for its own reasons, we went looking for ‘ideas.”

www.google.com gave us 68,000,000 versus 348,000,000 options back on February 14.

www.yahoo.com on the other hand presented 2,140,000,000 links versus 456,000,000 last Valentine's Day in the US.

www.ask.com delivered 56,810,000 compared to 133,720,000 responses identified last February.

www.msn.com referred us to www.bing.com which listed 228,000,000 choices as opposed to the 87,774,166 earlier from msn.

We are on a constant quest to capture the musings of others on ideas and such.
With a preemptive apology if we have stepped on any copyright laws, here is an ever expanding list of our current favorites:

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."
- Lorraine Hansberry, author of "Raisin in the Sun" & "To be Young, Gifted & Black"

"Not to engage in the pursuit of ideas is to live like ants instead of like men."
- Mortimer Adler

"When I have an idea, I turn down the flame, as if it were a little alcohol stove, as low as it will go. Then it explodes and that is my idea."
- Ernest Hemingway

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."
- Victor Hugo

"You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea."
- Pablo Picasso

"The only people in the world who can change things are those who can sell ideas."
- Lois Wyse

"The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money."
- Thomas Jefferson

“You got to wade through the trite s--- to get to the good s---.”
- Friend of one of the principals of In the Company of Ideas, LLC

“Think, think, think,”
- Pooh Bear

FAILURE MAY BE JUST ONE STEP FROM SUCCESS
"Success teaches us nothing; only failure teaches."
- Hyman Rickover, Father of the nuclear navy

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
- T. S. Eliot, Poet

“Do something. If it doesn't work, do something else. No idea is too crazy.”
- Jim Hightower

WHAT IF
“What if there were no what ifs?”
- Greg Raft, Design Director, The Morley Companies

“What if this weren't a hypothetical question?”
- Unknown

“What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, I definitely overpaid for my carpet.”
- Woody Allen (1935 - )

“What if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.”
- Matt Groening (1954 - ), The Simpsons

“What if there had been room at the inn?”
- Linda Festa on the origins of Christianity

“What if you slept? And what if, in your sleep, you dreamed? And what if, in your dream, you went to heaven and plucked a strange and beautiful flower? And what if, when you awoke, you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?”
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, ‘Where have I gone wrong?’ Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
- Charles M. Schultz (1922 - 2000), Charlie Brown in "Peanuts"
(Correct. Nothing to do about Ideas or Success or What ifs. But, we figure if you’ve gone this far with us, your mind deserves a little break.)

Where are we going with this?
Not sure yet.
But we have some ideas.