--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not an original thinker-but I am an…" description: "\"I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.)\" — Aravind Adiga" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png" --- # I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.) ![“I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.)” quote by Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png) > “I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.)” [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Original thinking may be rare, but original listening creates unique insights and value. **In simple terms:** Listening originally can be as valuable as original ideas. Key Takeaway Practice deep, original listening. Themes listening originality creativity empathy Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - team meetings - research interviews - creative workshops - customer feedback Key Concepts active listening idea generation Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn listening into action? - What does original listening look like? A Different Perspective Listening without action yields little impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Listener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listener/) [Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original/) [Original Listener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-listener-4178704/) [Original Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-thinker-1108725/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Thinker Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker-original-4178705/) ## Related quotes > [No woman has been a significant original thinker in any of the world's great philosophical traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/no-woman-has-been-a-significant-original-thinker-in-any-of-the-world/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [There is a wide difference between the original thinker and the merely learned man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-is-a-wide-difference-between-the-original-thinker-and-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory it too good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-a-man-fails-as-an-original-thinker-simply-because-his-memory-it/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If you're an original thinker, you are going get told 'no' a lot, and you have to be able to hear 'no' many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/if-you-re-an-original-thinker-you-are-going-get-told-no-a-lot-and-you/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [I wouldn't say I'm a very original thinker, but if I have a good experience with something, I'll want to take it further or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-wouldn-t-say-i-m-a-very-original-thinker-but-if-i-have-a-good/) [Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/) > [A teenager is a original thinker who is positive that their parents were never teenagers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vvn/a-teenager-is-a-original-thinker-who-is-positive-that-their-parents/) [VVN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vvn/) > [“Only the human mind, unspoiled by the officially structured education and the authority opinions on different subjects, can produce an original thinker. Hail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-zubry/only-the-human-mind-unspoiled-by-the-officially-structured-education/) [Boris Zubry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-zubry/) > [In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-the-modern-world-of-business-it-is-useless-to-be-a-creative-2/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Many a man fails as an original thinker simply because his memory is too good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-a-man-fails-as-an-original-thinker-simply-because-his-memory-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-the-modern-world-of-business-it-is-useless-to-be-a-creative/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I said that if I hadn't been a politician, I'd have liked to be a barrister, or an academic. My beloved wife said: 'You'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bercow/i-said-that-if-i-hadn-t-been-a-politician-i-d-have-liked-to-be-a/) [John Bercow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bercow/) > [To become an an effective listener, you need to learn the power of silence. Silence gives you the opportunity to think about what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-become-an-an-effective-listener-you-need-to-learn-the-power-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The single most important key to success is to be a good listener.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-wearstler/the-single-most-important-key-to-success-is-to-be-a-good-listener/) [Kelly Wearstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-wearstler/) > [“We all have the same holes in our hearts Everything falls apart at the exact same time It all comes together perfectly for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/listener/we-all-have-the-same-holes-in-our-hearts-everything-falls-apart-at/) [Listener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/listener/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) ## More by Aravind Adiga > [Columbia University, where I went to study in 1993, insisted its undergraduates learn a foreign language, so I discovered French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/columbia-university-where-i-went-to-study-in-1993-insisted-its/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [What keeps India safe really is the heroism of millions of poor Indians who every day reject the allure of terrorism. What keeps India…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/what-keeps-india-safe-really-is-the-heroism-of-millions-of-poor/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Every day, on the roads of Delhi, some chauffeur is driving an empty car with a black suitcase sitting on the backseat. Inside that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/every-day-on-the-roads-of-delhi-some-chauffeur-is-driving-an-empty/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I am coming back to New York after five years, and it seems that psychics are taking over the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-coming-back-to-new-york-after-five-years-and-it-seems-that/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [You ask 'Are you a man or a demon?' Neither, I say. I have woken up, and the rest of you are sleeping, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/you-ask-are-you-a-man-or-a-demon-neither-i-say-i-have-woken-up-and/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [I’ve lived in several countries and been a disaster everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-ve-lived-in-several-countries-and-been-a-disaster-everywhere/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Neither. I am just one who has woken up while the rest of you are still sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/neither-i-am-just-one-who-has-woken-up-while-the-rest-of-you-are/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“People in this country are still waiting for the war of their freedom to come from somewhere else, from the jungles, from the mountains,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/people-in-this-country-are-still-waiting-for-the-war-of-their-freedom/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“These people were building homes for the rich, but they lived in tents covered with blue tarpaulin sheets, and partitioned into lanes by lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/these-people-were-building-homes-for-the-rich-but-they-lived-in-tents/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“And then he realized that the thing that was blocking his passage was cleared, and he was falling; his body had begun its short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/and-then-he-realized-that-the-thing-that-was-blocking-his-passage-was/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“When it comes to work - hurry, hurry, hurry. When it comes to payment - delay, delay, delay. Caste, religion, family background nothing. Talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/when-it-comes-to-work-hurry-hurry-hurry-when-it-comes-to-payment/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“There was a fierce jam on the road to Gurgaon. Every five minutes the traffic would tremble - we'd move a foot - hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/there-was-a-fierce-jam-on-the-road-to-gurgaon-every-five-minutes-the/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“From the advertisement, his eyes moved up the skywalk, the zigzagging metal bridge that connected various locations in the neighborhood to the Banda train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/from-the-advertisement-his-eyes-moved-up-the-skywalk-the-zigzagging/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [It's amazing. The moment you show cash, everyone knows your language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/it-s-amazing-the-moment-you-show-cash-everyone-knows-your-language/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [“Even here, in the weight machine of a train station, they try to hoodwink us. Here, on the threshold of a man's freedom, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/even-here-in-the-weight-machine-of-a-train-station-they-try-to/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) [Explore all 111 Aravind Adiga quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aravind Adiga" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an-original-listener/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an-original-listener/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4f/aravind-adiga-4424_creativity_i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an_1286982.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not an original thinker-but I am an original listener.)” — Aravind Adiga", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aravind Adiga", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am not an original thinker-but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an-original-listener/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/i-am-not-an-original-thinker-but-i-am-an-original-listener/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```