Quotes by Eric Weiner

Places of genius challenge us. They are difficult. They do not earn their place in history with ethnic restaurants or street festivals, but by provoking us, making demands of us. Crazy, unrealistic, beautiful demands.

All genuinely creative ideas are initially met with rejection, since they necessarily threaten the status quo. An enthusiastic reception for a new idea is a sure sign that it is not original.

Its a silly argument, and unnecessary. Creativity doesnt happen in here or out there but in the spaces in between. Creativity is a relationship, one that unfolds at the intersection of person and place.

Einsteins secretary once said that if Einstein were born among the polar bears, he would still be Einstein. But unless polar bears were well versed in theoretical physics, that is not true. Einstein would not be Einstein. Which is not to take anything away from Einstein, or the polar bears, but simply to point out that he was part of a creative ecology, and trying to isolate him from it is not only silly but futile.

Yes, failure is part of the mix, he says, but it is a means, not an end. If you fail repeatedly, and in the same manner, youre an idiot, not a genius.

The point is, the best technology or idea doesnt always prevail. Sometimes chance and the law of unintended consequences win out.

Ideas are like bananas. That bananas grow only in tropical regions doesnt make them any less delicious in Scandinavia.

First of all, nothing good ever came from a beanbag chair. Nothing. I am speaking from personal experience.

The creator of Bambi was secretly writing pornographic novels on the side. This single fact tells you everything you need to know about turn-of-the-century Vienna, and why it was the perfect place for Sigmund Freud and his far-fetched theories about the human psyche.

Geniuses are always marginalized to one degree or another. Someone wholly invested in the status quo is unlikely to disrupt it.

You can be as good as Rembrandt, but if no one discovers you, you will only be a genius in theory.

To describe yourself as an entrepreneur or a disrupter is as meaningless as describing yourself as an athlete or a thinker. Really? What sports do you play? What do you think about?

“[Happiness is] a ghost, it’s a shadow. You can’t really chase it. It’s a by-product, a very pleasant side effect to a life lived well.”

“Our happiness is completely and utterly intertwined with other people: family and friends and neighbors and the woman you hardly notice who cleans your office. Happiness is not a noun or verb. Its a conjunction. Connective tissue.”

“Ive always believed that happiness is just around the corner. The trick is fining the right corner.”

“..there is more to life than just pleasure. We want to achieve our happiness and not just experience it.”

“Maybe happiness is this: not feeling that you should be elsewhere, doing something else, being someone else.”