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Perception follows purpose.

Never mistake a clear view for a short distance.

When introducing a radically new product, it is necessary to understand how consumers currently frame their experience of the problem addressed by the new offering. That is, no matter how radical a new product is, it will always be perceived initially in terms of some frame of reference.

Never ignore a coincidence. Ever. It is a message that breaks through the same old patterns and often is a golden opportunity. You just need to figure out what kind. The important part is letting go of the idea of how things should be and trusting that you don't know the big picture.

Â…I use coincidences as a way of thinking creativelyÂ…The universe is radically ambiguous. We give meaning to everything...My point is that you can take a coincidence and interpret it with meaning. This starts a process of associations that you normally wouldn't have been aware of.

Admit to yourself, "I am not indispensable." Repeat over and over. Most people don't want to admit this. Most people are wrong.

Men and nations may behave wisely once they've exhausted all other alternatives.

Once formed, symbols persist until they are replaced by other, more powerful symbols.

Being able to tell what time it is (that is, knowing the difference between merely difficult times and true times of crisis) is one of the most important analytical skills a leader can have, especially with respect to formulating or reassessing strategy.

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of 18.

Â…personal comfort is not the only thing worth seekingÂ…comfort only takes us to a point that's known. Since when did sheets with the right thread-count, a coffee maker, and an electric toothbrush become the only things worth having or working toward? Too often, comfort gets in the way of inner reckonings.

The principal obstruction to what we want most is ourselves. Our tendency, when we stand where we are and look toward what we want, is to see all kinds of obstructions imposed from without. When we change our point of view and look backward at where we are from where we want to be, in many cases the obstructions disappear.

We don’t see the world directly. We perceive it through frameworks of ideas and beliefs, which act as filters on what we perceive and how we perceive it. Some of these ideas enter our consciousness so deeply that we’re not even aware of them. They strike us as simple common sense. They often show up, though, in the metaphors and images we use to think about ourselves and about the world around us.

When people get into a routine, their brains often shift into neutral: They become less likely to spot changes in the environment and less likely to question what they are doing and how they are doing it. Embedded in routines are assumptions about the world and how it works, assumptions we often mistake for reality. When the world changes faster than our assumptions about it, danger lies ahead.

Everything we see hides something else we want to see.