“... the typical worker who through the whole of his life...pursues the idea of a certain artificial and elegant repose which he may never arrive at, for which he sacrifices a real tranquility...It is this deception which rouses and keeps in continual motion the industry of mankind.”

“The learned ignore the evidence of their senses to preserve the coherence of the ideas of their imagination.”

"I don't think it's a good idea to plan to sell a company."

“There is no difference in souls, only the ideas about ourselves that we wear.”

(When asked what he thought of Western civilization): 'I think it would be a good idea.

Research your idea. See if there's a demand. A lot of people have great ideas, but they don't know if there's a need for it. You also have to research your competition.

I have always seen the United States as a force of good. And I have learned that there is the idealistic part about what we can do at the U.N. and there is a doable part. And I have learned what is more doable.

And so I think that the idea of America working with other countries to solve problems is good for us, and it is part of digging us out of the 'my way or the highway' approach that was evident in the previous eight years.

Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.

Only very few men have the gift of thinking new and original ideas and of changing the traditional body of creeds and doctrines.

In a battle between force and an idea, the latter always prevails.

I'm a bit old-fashioned. I like the idea of going to the cinema and then an Italian restaurant.

My ideas for the future? To take over the world.

Preconceived ideas are like searchlights which illumine the path of the experimenter and serve him as a guide to interrogate nature. They become a danger only if he transforms them into fixed ideas-this is why I should like to see these profound words inscribed on the threshold of all the temples of science: 'The greatest derangement of the mind is to believe in something because one wishes it to be so.'

There's this idea that somebody's job could be more important than somebody else's, and to me, that's not true.

“Forget motivation; it’s a myth. I don’t know when we all bought into the idea that in order to change you must “feel” eager or “feel” motivated to act. It’s complete garbage. The moment it’s time to assert yourself, you will not feel motivated. In fact, you won’t feel like doing anything at all. If you want to improve your life, you’ll need to get off your rear end and kick your own butt. In my world, I call that the power of a push.” 

"I love the idea of there being two sexes, don't you?"

"An idea can be tested, whereas if you have no idea, nothing can be tested and you don't understand anything. The molecule that you make when you are getting sunburned or when you eat a lot of food is part of the same molecule that contains an endorphin or an opiate. No one has ever had a hypothesis about why the two are together."

"Everyone has an idea, but it's really about executing the idea and attracting other people to help you with the idea."

"My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living."

"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."

"Service without ideal of self . . . trains you to transcend all the artificial distinctions imposed by history and geography, and to realize that the human community is one and indivisible."

"Good ideas, good conduct and adherence to Truth should result from our education. Only those who acquire these qualities can be called truly educated."

"All the information about you as a patient would be in one spot, ... The idea here is to stop collecting paper."