---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a way of playing safe, there's a…"
description: "\"There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chanc..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg"
---

#  There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using…

![“There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before.” quote by Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg)

> “There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before.”

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

## About This Quote

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

Embracing risk and mistakes can lead to original creation, rather than playing it safe.

**In simple terms:** Risk leads to new creation.

Key Takeaway

Accept risk to innovate.

Themes

creativity risk innovation

Mood

excited determined

Type

inspirational philosophical

When to use this quote

- artistic projects
- entrepreneurial ventures
- product design
- personal development

Key Concepts

improvisation experimentation growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What risks could unlock your next breakthrough?
- How do you balance safety with daring?

A Different Perspective

Risk can cause failure and loss if not managed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Chance Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance-making-1137411/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Making mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-mistakes/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Play Dangerously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-dangerously-6134170/) [Playing Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-safe/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Take a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-a-chance/) [Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tricks/) [Using Tricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-tricks-6134171/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/)

## Related quotes

> [Living means taking chances. Risks. Playing safe all the time is being dead inside, even if you happen to still be breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/living-means-taking-chances-risks-playing-safe-all-the-time-is-being/)

[Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/)

> [Playing it safe isn't fun; you have to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/playing-it-safe-isn-t-fun-you-have-to-take-a-chance/)

[Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/)

> [If you aren't making any mistakes, it's a sure sign you're playing it too safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/if-you-aren-t-making-any-mistakes-it-s-a-sure-sign-you-re-playing-it/)

[John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/)

> [Well with just this business, this whole acting thing, it's so competitive and there's like such a small chance of making it. I'm very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-schnapp/well-with-just-this-business-this-whole-acting-thing-it-s-so/)

[Noah Schnapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-schnapp/)

> [Once you focus on being the best you can be rather than 'making it' you actually have a better chance of 'making it'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-focus-on-being-the-best-you-can-be-rather-than-making-it-you/)

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

> [If you can't write your own material, you have very little chance of making it as a comedian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/if-you-can-t-write-your-own-material-you-have-very-little-chance-of/)

[Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/)

> [I just hope that I get a chance to keep making pictures in the atmosphere of freedom to make mistakes, and to find those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/i-just-hope-that-i-get-a-chance-to-keep-making-pictures-in-the/)

[David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/)

> [Sometimes I think I could have got some better results if I had a different mentality; if I could have pushed hard and attacked.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-prost/sometimes-i-think-i-could-have-got-some-better-results-if-i-had-a/)

[Alain Prost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-prost/)

> [“I’ve learned to just go ahead and take fairness out of the equation. If you do, things stand the chance of making a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiley-cash/i-ve-learned-to-just-go-ahead-and-take-fairness-out-of-the-equation/)

[Wiley Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiley-cash/)

> [I have found that I always learn more from my mistakes than from my successes. If you aren't making some mistakes, you aren't taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sculley/i-have-found-that-i-always-learn-more-from-my-mistakes-than-from-my/)

[John Sculley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sculley/)

> [Jazz stands for freedom. It's supposed to be the voice of freedom: Get out there and improvise, and take chances, and don't be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/jazz-stands-for-freedom-it-s-supposed-to-be-the-voice-of-freedom-get/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [“Playing it safe and tiptoeing through life is exhausting. Keeping all of your gifts trapped inside tires the crap out of you. It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-mateu/playing-it-safe-and-tiptoeing-through-life-is-exhausting-keeping-all/)

[Lysa Mateu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-mateu/)

> [“Are you a believer or just playing safe?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/are-you-a-believer-or-just-playing-safe/)

[Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/)

> [“There is no playing safe with me any longer. I only take huge risks. I know this means I can lose big time, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahndra-fon-dufe/there-is-no-playing-safe-with-me-any-longer-i-only-take-huge-risks-i/)

[Sahndra Fon Dufe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahndra-fon-dufe/)

> [To be sure, playing it safe isn't a flashy style of poker. Some even claim that it's too weak and passive. That being said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-negreanu/to-be-sure-playing-it-safe-isn-t-a-flashy-style-of-poker-some-even/)

[Daniel Negreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-negreanu/)

## More by Dave Brubeck

> [I think the church should strive to give parishioners good music. Music is as necessary for worship as a building with a beautiful altar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-think-the-church-should-strive-to-give-parishioners-good-music/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [My own Brubeck Institute in California is turning out fantastic young jazz players, and I know great things will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-own-brubeck-institute-in-california-is-turning-out-fantastic-young/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [You have to be taught to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/you-have-to-be-taught-to-hate/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [When I was 20, Shostakovich was my favorite composer. I still find his Fifth Symphony wonderful, with its outstanding themes and rhythms. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/when-i-was-20-shostakovich-was-my-favorite-composer-i-still-find-his/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [Every individual should be expressing themselves, whether a politician or a minister or a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/every-individual-should-be-expressing-themselves-whether-a-politician/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [If I told you all the people that have secretly told me I've influenced them, you'd never believe it, and you'll never see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-i-told-you-all-the-people-that-have-secretly-told-me-i-ve/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [If there's a deadline, I work late. If not, I like to have normal hours, and get up early and work. When things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-there-s-a-deadline-i-work-late-if-not-i-like-to-have-normal-hours/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [My mother Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck was a pianist who studied with Dame Myra Hess and Tobias Matthey. As a child in California I used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-mother-elizabeth-ivey-brubeck-was-a-pianist-who-studied-with-dame/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [That's the beauty of music. You can take a theme from a Bach sacred chorale and improvise. It doesn't make any difference where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/that-s-the-beauty-of-music-you-can-take-a-theme-from-a-bach-sacred/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [After the Second World War, I returned to California to study composition with Darius Milhaud, who wrote wonderful works like 'Le Boeuf sur le…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/after-the-second-world-war-i-returned-to-california-to-study/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [I started growing up in a hurry and taking a lot of the philosophy I'd heard from church as a kid a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-started-growing-up-in-a-hurry-and-taking-a-lot-of-the-philosophy-i/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [My dad was the manager at the 45,000-acre ranch, but he owned his own 1,200-acre ranch, and I owned four cattle that he gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-dad-was-the-manager-at-the-45-000-acre-ranch-but-he-owned-his-own/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [Many people don't understand how disciplined you have to be to play jazz... And that is really the idea of democracy - freedom within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/many-people-don-t-understand-how-disciplined-you-have-to-be-to-play/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [The reality for me is simple. When music is written, it is usually categorized as classical. When it is improvised, it can still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-reality-for-me-is-simple-when-music-is-written-it-is-usually/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

> [I was always very aware of drummers. My oldest brother Henry was a drummer, and he drummed on everything in the house from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-was-always-very-aware-of-drummers-my-oldest-brother-henry-was-a/)

[Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

[Explore all 66 Dave Brubeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/)

## More Chance quotes

> [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/)

[Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/)

> [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/)

[Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/)

> [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/)

[Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/)

> [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/)

[Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/)

> [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/)

[Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/)

[Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/)

> [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/)

[Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/)

> [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/)

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

> [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/)

[Alejandro Taubas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-taubas/)

> [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/)

[Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/)

> [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/)

[Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/)

> [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/)

[Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/)

[Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dave Brubeck"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a-way-of-using-tricks-and-there/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chance"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a-way-of-using-tricks-and-there/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43f/dave-brubeck-10370_chance_there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a_3234958.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is…” — Dave Brubeck",
                "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": "Dave Brubeck",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There's a way of playing safe,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a-way-of-using-tricks-and-there/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/there-s-a-way-of-playing-safe-there-s-a-way-of-using-tricks-and-there/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
