What inspires? What sparks creation?

There are as many answers to this as there are ideas. Leading clients through the ideation process is one of the several services we provide at Dawn. Often we use quotes to spark a discussion. We seek out quotes where the writer skillfully uses words to express and illuminate an idea in a powerful or provocative way. You’ll find some of our favorites here, including ones that have the power to alter a mindset. If you’re looking for a favorite author or a particular subject, use our search function to find these quotes from the illuminating nuggets we’ve collected.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

– e.e. cummings

Yoda_do-or-not-do

Do or do not. There is no try.

– Yoda

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.

– Muriel Rukeyser

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

I cannot make my days longer so I strive to make them better.

– Henry David Thoreau

When you arise in the morning

When you arise in the morning, think about what a precious privilege it is to be alive. To breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

– Marcus Aurelius

What is a weed?

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

What you do makes a difference

You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

– Jane Goodall

Pema-Chodron_The Future is completely open

“The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.”

– Pema Chödrön

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

– Maya Angelou

frog-in-pond

The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.

– Native American saying

Decisions are made by those who show up.

— Aaron Sorkin

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Don’t ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.

– Robert Frost

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In the long run we get no more than we have been willing to risk giving.

– Sheldon Kopp

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Take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly, and try another. But by all means, try something.

– Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.

– H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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Amidst the worldly comings and goings, observe how endings become beginnings.

– Lao Tzu

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Don’t overlook life’s small joys while searching for the big ones.

– H. Jackson Brown Jr.

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Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will out burn the pain.

– Joseph Campbell

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Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different?

– C.S. Lewis

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The Buddha says that we are not punished for our anger, we are punished by our anger. In other words, anger is its own karma.

– Eknath Easwaran

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