---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was never my direct intention to do…"
description: "\"It was never my direct intention to do anything particularly medium-defying.\" — Dan Harmon"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg"
---

#  It was never my direct intention to do anything…

![“It was never my direct intention to do anything particularly medium-defying.” quote by Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg)

> “It was never my direct intention to do anything particularly medium-defying.”

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Creating innovative work isn’t always intentional; it can emerge organically from the process.

**In simple terms:** Innovation can arise unintentionally.

Key Takeaway

Allow creativity to flow without forced intent.

Themes

creativity process innovation intentionality

Mood

reflective encouraging

Type

creative practical

When to use this quote

- writing
- design
- technology
- teaching
- entrepreneurship

Key Concepts

serendipity creative flow collaboration

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you recognize accidental breakthroughs?
- When should you intervene in a creative process?

A Different Perspective

May lack direction without goals.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/)

## Related quotes

> [“all that is necessary for the valid administration of the Sacraments is the direct intention, i. e. the purpose of performing the rite as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/all-that-is-necessary-for-the-valid-administration-of-the-sacraments/)

[Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/)

> [I always try to use my medium, and if I get into a normal sitcom-writing contest with normal sitcom writers, I'm going to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/i-always-try-to-use-my-medium-and-if-i-get-into-a-normal-sitcom/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [ I don't know whom or what he was defying. \[...\] \[M\]aybe the God he had never believed in. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-don-t-know-whom-or-what-he-was-defying-m-aybe-the-god-he-had-never/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [A high view of God’s sovereignty fuels death-defying devotion to global missions. Maybe another way to put it, people, and more specifically pastors, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/a-high-view-of-god-s-sovereignty-fuels-death-defying-devotion-to/)

[David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/)

> [The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/the-young-always-have-the-same-problem-how-to-rebel-and-conform-at/)

[Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/)

> [Man seems to be capable of great virtues but not of small virtues; capable of defying his torturer but not of keeping his temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-seems-to-be-capable-of-great-virtues-but-not-of-small-virtues-2/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [Canadians are friends and Quebecers are my family. What France knows deep down is that within this great Canadian people, there is a Quebec…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/canadians-are-friends-and-quebecers-are-my-family-what-france-knows/)

[Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/)

> [So one time for my disillusioned artists, I hear ya Two times for the kid that air-guitars in the mirror Three times for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-denzongpa/so-one-time-for-my-disillusioned-artists-i-hear-ya-two-times-for-the/)

[Danny Denzongpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-denzongpa/)

> [The analytical geometry of Descartes and the calculus of Newton and Leibniz have expanded into the marvelous mathematical method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/the-analytical-geometry-of-descartes-and-the-calculus-of-newton-and/)

[Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/)

> [In my mid-twenties, I said to myself: 'I can't perform anymore!' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't perform for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-kayden/in-my-mid-twenties-i-said-to-myself-i-can-t-perform-anymore-i-didn-t/)

[Spencer Kayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-kayden/)

> [If you are proposing to commit a sin it is as well to commit it with intelligence. Otherwise you are insulting God as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/if-you-are-proposing-to-commit-a-sin-it-is-as-well-to-commit-it-with/)

[P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/)

> [Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revisiting-the-revolutionary-war-is-a-bracing-reminder-that-the-fate/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/)

[H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/)

> [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

## More by Dan Harmon

> [Class clowns are never allowed to date anybody decent, but you don't get beaten up, you're invited to parties, and everybody likes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/class-clowns-are-never-allowed-to-date-anybody-decent-but-you-don-t/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [With an animated show you can make a banana purple. You can put three hats on a cowboy. That would require several days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/with-an-animated-show-you-can-make-a-banana-purple-you-can-put-three/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [Once upon a time, something happened, and it was better than something not happening. The end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/once-upon-a-time-something-happened-and-it-was-better-than-something/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [TV tends to be like, if you're lucky, it's like Las Vegas. You can't get out. There's always another pitch meeting. They keep you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/tv-tends-to-be-like-if-you-re-lucky-it-s-like-las-vegas-you-can-t-get/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [I don't really have a lot of appropriate feelings for people on an individual basis, but I've always wanted to make people happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/i-don-t-really-have-a-lot-of-appropriate-feelings-for-people-on-an/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [Good writers hate bad writing but hating bad writing doesn’t make you good. Writing badly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/good-writers-hate-bad-writing-but-hating-bad-writing-doesn-t-make-you/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [Whereas the health of an individual depends on the ego's regular descent and return to and from the unconscious, a society's longevity depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/whereas-the-health-of-an-individual-depends-on-the-ego-s-regular/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [What's important is passion, investment, and people laughing out loud as they work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/what-s-important-is-passion-investment-and-people-laughing-out-loud/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [I'm from Wisconsin so I always feel a little nauseous about begging and trying to trick people into liking me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/i-m-from-wisconsin-so-i-always-feel-a-little-nauseous-about-begging/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [You don’t give someone notes on their performance at a soup kitchen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/you-don-t-give-someone-notes-on-their-performance-at-a-soup-kitchen/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [“Take it easy. Nothing you do matters as much as you think. Your greatest achievements aren’t yours at all, they’re accidents and jokes. You’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/take-it-easy-nothing-you-do-matters-as-much-as-you-think-your/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [I grew up on network sitcoms. If those are gone when I'm 65 years old, I would never forgive myself for not stepping up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/i-grew-up-on-network-sitcoms-if-those-are-gone-when-i-m-65-years-old/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [I was playing the game where I was going to be a great TV or film writer some day and there was nothing else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/i-was-playing-the-game-where-i-was-going-to-be-a-great-tv-or-film/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [When you are in the 8 o'clock position, you can either be a cultural phenomenon, or you're endangered. It's a tough time slot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/when-you-are-in-the-8-o-clock-position-you-can-either-be-a-cultural/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

> [You have people saying two things that seem to contradict each other. One, that we live in a golden age of TV. The other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/you-have-people-saying-two-things-that-seem-to-contradict-each-other/)

[Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

[Explore all 89 Dan Harmon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/)

## More Defying quotes

> [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/)

[George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/)

> [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/)

[Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/)

> [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/)

[H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/)

> [Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revisiting-the-revolutionary-war-is-a-bracing-reminder-that-the-fate/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you are proposing to commit a sin it is as well to commit it with intelligence. Otherwise you are insulting God as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/if-you-are-proposing-to-commit-a-sin-it-is-as-well-to-commit-it-with/)

[P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/)

> [In my mid-twenties, I said to myself: 'I can't perform anymore!' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't perform for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-kayden/in-my-mid-twenties-i-said-to-myself-i-can-t-perform-anymore-i-didn-t/)

[Spencer Kayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-kayden/)

> [The analytical geometry of Descartes and the calculus of Newton and Leibniz have expanded into the marvelous mathematical method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/the-analytical-geometry-of-descartes-and-the-calculus-of-newton-and/)

[Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/)

> [So one time for my disillusioned artists, I hear ya Two times for the kid that air-guitars in the mirror Three times for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-denzongpa/so-one-time-for-my-disillusioned-artists-i-hear-ya-two-times-for-the/)

[Danny Denzongpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-denzongpa/)

> [Canadians are friends and Quebecers are my family. What France knows deep down is that within this great Canadian people, there is a Quebec…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/canadians-are-friends-and-quebecers-are-my-family-what-france-knows/)

[Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/)

> [Man seems to be capable of great virtues but not of small virtues; capable of defying his torturer but not of keeping his temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-seems-to-be-capable-of-great-virtues-but-not-of-small-virtues-2/)

[Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/)

> [The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/the-young-always-have-the-same-problem-how-to-rebel-and-conform-at/)

[Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/)

> [A high view of God’s sovereignty fuels death-defying devotion to global missions. Maybe another way to put it, people, and more specifically pastors, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/a-high-view-of-god-s-sovereignty-fuels-death-defying-devotion-to/)

[David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/)

> [ I don't know whom or what he was defying. \[...\] \[M\]aybe the God he had never believed in. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-don-t-know-whom-or-what-he-was-defying-m-aybe-the-god-he-had-never/)

[Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/)

> [Suddenly the nickel-clad horse takes the bit in its mouth and goes slanting for the curbstone defying all prayers and all your powers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/suddenly-the-nickel-clad-horse-takes-the-bit-in-its-mouth-and-goes/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [The president is under 50 percent approval ratings in all the battleground states. So, you could say that President Obama is defying gravity by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/the-president-is-under-50-percent-approval-ratings-in-all-the/)

[Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/)

Browse all 115 Defying quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It was never my direct intention to do anything particularly medium-defying.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dan Harmon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-anything-particularly-medium/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Defying"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-anything-particularly-medium/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-harmon-7587_defying_it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-a_2901727.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was never my direct intention to do anything particularly medium-defying.” — Dan Harmon",
                "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": "Dan Harmon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It was never my direct intention...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-anything-particularly-medium/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/it-was-never-my-direct-intention-to-do-anything-particularly-medium/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```