--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People ask me when I start one of these…" description: "\"People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I havent the faintest idea. Thats why youre writing the book, it seems to me, to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/david-mccullough-1091_adventure_people-ask-me-when-i-start-one-of-these_497601.png" --- # People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is… ![“People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I havent the faintest idea. Thats why youre writing the book, it seems to me, to find out. To me, its a journey. Its an adventure. Its traveling in a country youve never been in and everything is going to be new, and because of…” quote by David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/david-mccullough-1091_adventure_people-ask-me-when-i-start-one-of-these_497601.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/david-mccullough-1091_adventure_people-ask-me-when-i-start-one-of-these_497601.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1e/david-mccullough-1091_adventure_people-ask-me-when-i-start-one-of-these_497601.png) > “People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I havent the faintest idea. Thats why youre writing the book, it seems to me, to find out. To me, its a journey. Its an adventure. Its traveling in a country youve never been in and everything is going to be new, and because of that, vivid. And dont make up your mind too soon. Let it be an experience.” [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote emphasizes embracing uncertainty and allowing a project to unfold organically, treating it as an exploratory adventure rather than a fixed plan. **In simple terms:** Embrace uncertainty and let projects evolve like a journey. Key Takeaway Stay open, let experiences shape the work. Themes creativity exploration uncertainty journey adventure Mood curious optimistic reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - starting a new book - launching a startup - planning a trip - creative brainstorming Key Concepts Narrative process emergent design learning by doing Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance openness with progress? - When does spontaneity hinder success? A Different Perspective Too much openness can lead to lack of direction and missed deadlines. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-journey-1093106/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Projects Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projects-theme-4244399/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-book/) [Youre Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youre-writing-4244400/) ## Related quotes > [If youre writing a screenplay from scratch, it involves a lot of creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/if-youre-writing-a-screenplay-from-scratch-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [I simply believe that a book has a journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf… Let’s leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-simply-believe-that-a-book-has-a-journey-to-make-and-should-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Whichever category of God’s daughter you find yourself in as you read this book, your journey is worth every step you take. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-wambui-ngabura/whichever-category-of-god-s-daughter-you-find-yourself-in-as-you-read/) [Carol Wambui Ngabura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-wambui-ngabura/) > [“If you take a book with you on a journey,’ Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, ‘an odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/if-you-take-a-book-with-you-on-a-journey-mo-had-said-when-he-put-the-2/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I love the way that each book -- any book -- is its own journey. You open it, and off you go. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-love-the-way-that-each-book-any-book-is-its-own-journey-you-open-it/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [If you take a book with you on a journey," Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, "an odd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/if-you-take-a-book-with-you-on-a-journey-mo-had-said-when-he-put-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“The store owner had settled himself behind the counter again and was reaching for his book. "The journey will test your sanity." He spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-mostert/the-store-owner-had-settled-himself-behind-the-counter-again-and-was/) [Natasha Mostert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-mostert/) > [For me, every book is a journey - questioning a really difficult topic that most people don't want to talk about, much less write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/for-me-every-book-is-a-journey-questioning-a-really-difficult-topic/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“I stopped writing the book that I wanted to write, and wrote the one the book wanted to write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lewis/i-stopped-writing-the-book-that-i-wanted-to-write-and-wrote-the-one/) [Jim Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lewis/) > [Writing a book is a brilliant thing because once you've finished it, you've done it, and there's the potential for it to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/writing-a-book-is-a-brilliant-thing-because-once-you-ve-finished-it/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/these-are-rules-i-ve-picked-up-along-the-way-to-help-me-remain/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [The good thing about writing book is that you can dream while you are awake...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-good-thing-about-writing-book-is-that-you-can-dream-while-you-are/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Which is why I am writing this book. To think. To understand. It just happens to be the way I'm made. I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/which-is-why-i-am-writing-this-book-to-think-to-understand-it-just/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by David McCullough > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Steamboats by this time were becoming a familiar presence on the rivers and coastal waters of America, but not until 1838 did steam-powered ships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/steamboats-by-this-time-were-becoming-a-familiar-presence-on-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I feel that history is in many ways the most important of all subjects because it is about everything and because it's about who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-feel-that-history-is-in-many-ways-the-most-important-of-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Even mighty states and kingdoms are not exempted. If we look into history, we shall find some nations rising from contemptible beginnings and spreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/even-mighty-states-and-kingdoms-are-not-exempted-if-we-look-into/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [History isn't just what happened, but what happened to whom and why and what would have been different if the cast of characters had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/history-isn-t-just-what-happened-but-what-happened-to-whom-and-why/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Nobody ever lived in the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nobody-ever-lived-in-the-past/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Only TR openly declared his love for the job. “Nobody ever enjoyed the presidency as I did,” he boasted, and by all evidence that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/only-tr-openly-declared-his-love-for-the-job-nobody-ever-enjoyed-the/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“s ships Phoenix and Rose, in the company of three tenders, cast off their moorings at Staten Island and started up the harbor under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/s-ships-phoenix-and-rose-in-the-company-of-three-tenders-cast-off/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“a people may let a King fall, yet still remain a people, but if a King let his people slip from him, he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/a-people-may-let-a-king-fall-yet-still-remain-a-people-but-if-a-king/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Why limit yourself to the experience of your own relatively brief time on earth, according to your biological clock, when the whole realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/why-limit-yourself-to-the-experience-of-your-own-relatively-brief/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“He worked at a plain, tall desk at which he wrote standing up or perched on a high stool,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/he-worked-at-a-plain-tall-desk-at-which-he-wrote-standing-up-or/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Nothing happens in isolation. Everything that happens has consequences. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/nothing-happens-in-isolation-everything-that-happens-has-consequences/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [America faces an enemy who believes in enforced ignorance. And all that we stand for is the open mind, the generous spirit, the ideal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/america-faces-an-enemy-who-believes-in-enforced-ignorance-and-all/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/my-shorthand-answer-is-that-i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-book-that-i/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“Seen under the microscope, Stegomyia is a creature of striking beauty. Its general color is dark gray, but the thorax is marked with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/seen-under-the-microscope-stegomyia-is-a-creature-of-striking-beauty/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) [Explore all 291 David McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I havent the faintest idea. Thats why youre writing the book, it seems to me, to find out. To me, its a journey. Its an adventure. 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