--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take…" description: "\"The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around me, materials on my table, and work with them as I'm searching for an idea that works.\" — Fr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/frank-gehry-2139_around_the-fact-is-i-m-an-opportunist-i-ll-take_2928888.png" --- # The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around… ![“The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around me, materials on my table, and work with them as I'm searching for an idea that works.” quote by Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/frank-gehry-2139_around_the-fact-is-i-m-an-opportunist-i-ll-take_2928888.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/frank-gehry-2139_around_the-fact-is-i-m-an-opportunist-i-ll-take_2928888.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/frank-gehry-2139_around_the-fact-is-i-m-an-opportunist-i-ll-take_2928888.png) > “The fact is I'm an opportunist. I'll take materials around me, materials on my table, and work with them as I'm searching for an idea that works.” [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity emerges from using available resources to discover functional ideas. **In simple terms:** Make ideas from what you have. Key Takeaway Explore and repurpose surroundings. Themes creativity resourcefulness design Mood curious energetic Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - studio work - DIY projects - product development - artistic brainstorming Key Concepts innovation material culture Questions to Reflect On - What ordinary objects could inspire your next project? - How does constraint fuel imagination? A Different Perspective Limited resources may restrict possibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Opportunist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunist/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [My method is much like choreography. I don't sit at a table. I work in a room with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/my-method-is-much-like-choreography-i-don-t-sit-at-a-table-i-work-in/) [Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/) > [Too many are willing to sit at God’s table, but not work in his field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/too-many-are-willing-to-sit-at-god-s-table-but-not-work-in-his-field/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [When people think there are stakes on the table, they work harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-serhant/when-people-think-there-are-stakes-on-the-table-they-work-harder/) [Ryan Serhant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-serhant/) > [To put down an ideogram of a table so that people will recognize it as a table is not the work of a painter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-auerbach/to-put-down-an-ideogram-of-a-table-so-that-people-will-recognize-it/) [Frank Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-auerbach/) > [If they respect the craft and what we're doing and they bring something to the table and they work hard, I don't care what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-anderson/if-they-respect-the-craft-and-what-we-re-doing-and-they-bring/) [Anthony Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-anderson/) > [“Sometimes an idea works until time for the execution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-harrt/sometimes-an-idea-works-until-time-for-the-execution/) Angel Harrt > [Sometimes, you have no idea why something works and other times, you put so much work and effort into something and it just falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-coolidge/sometimes-you-have-no-idea-why-something-works-and-other-times-you/) [Jennifer Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-coolidge/) > [There are 9 rejected ideas for every idea that works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/there-are-9-rejected-ideas-for-every-idea-that-works/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [The thing about movies is if somebody has an idea that works, it's in, and I say that as a screenwriter as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/the-thing-about-movies-is-if-somebody-has-an-idea-that-works-it-s-in/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [“Nearly every person who develops an idea works at it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then gets discouraged. That's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-edison/nearly-every-person-who-develops-an-idea-works-at-it-up-to-the-point/) [Thomas Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-edison/) > [I suppose it's knowing when you've come up with an idea that works, when you've got it right, whatever it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/i-suppose-it-s-knowing-when-you-ve-come-up-with-an-idea-that-works/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [“If it's a bad idea, but it works, then it's not a bad idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-s-a-bad-idea-but-it-works-then-it-s-not-a-bad-idea/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“An opportunist ventures nothing, believes in nothing and invests in nothing, therefore he ends with nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicko-widjaja/an-opportunist-ventures-nothing-believes-in-nothing-and-invests-in/) Nicko Widjaja > [Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-your-leaders-with-wisdom-and-forethought-to-be-led-by-a-coward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lot of other bands have tried to go out there and say we've got views on this and views on that. But some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/a-lot-of-other-bands-have-tried-to-go-out-there-and-say-we-ve-got/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) ## More by Frank Gehry > [I think my attitudes about the past are very traditional. You can't ignore history; you can't escape it even if you want to. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-think-my-attitudes-about-the-past-are-very-traditional-you-can-t/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [In Tokyo, London or Los Angeles people go into McDonald's and the restaurants are identical and people are comfortable. It's unthreatening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/in-tokyo-london-or-los-angeles-people-go-into-mcdonald-s-and-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I'm inspired by a lot of stuff. I always was interested in sculpture and painting and music and literature and all those things. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-m-inspired-by-a-lot-of-stuff-i-always-was-interested-in-sculpture/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [One of my greatest influences is the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/one-of-my-greatest-influences-is-the-italian-artist-gian-lorenzo/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [People live and work in uninspiring environments, but look inside those rooms. Look at the painted walls and the decorations. People rebel even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/people-live-and-work-in-uninspiring-environments-but-look-inside/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Childhood play is nothing more than an expression of our individuality and preparation for human interaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/childhood-play-is-nothing-more-than-an-expression-of-our/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Ideas exist in the marketplace; they are thrown out for everyone to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/ideas-exist-in-the-marketplace-they-are-thrown-out-for-everyone-to-use/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Green issues have been used as a marketing tool. Sometimes these green claims are completely meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/green-issues-have-been-used-as-a-marketing-tool-sometimes-these-green/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [There are a lot of questions about whether architecture is art. The people who ask that think pretty tract houses are architecture. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/there-are-a-lot-of-questions-about-whether-architecture-is-art-the/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to read more when I was a kid than I do now. It was all sort of fuel for the fire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-read-more-when-i-was-a-kid-than-i-do-now-it-was-all-sort-of/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I found myself starting architecture with a deep social, Jewish, liberal conscience, and the belief that architecture is for the people. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-found-myself-starting-architecture-with-a-deep-social-jewish/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The message I hope to have sent is just the example of being yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-message-i-hope-to-have-sent-is-just-the-example-of-being-yourself/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [The whole can be greater than the sum of it's parts, that we all have something to put in the pie to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/the-whole-can-be-greater-than-the-sum-of-it-s-parts-that-we-all-have/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [I used to sketch - that's the way I thought out loud. Then they made a book of my sketches, and I got self-conscious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-used-to-sketch-that-s-the-way-i-thought-out-loud-then-they-made-a/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [Bilbao opened in 1997. It was only ten years later that I was asked to do another museum. A lot of other people got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/bilbao-opened-in-1997-it-was-only-ten-years-later-that-i-was-asked-to/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) [Explore all 183 Frank Gehry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) ## More Around quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [I drink maple syrup. Then I'm hyper so I just run around like crazy and work it all off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/i-drink-maple-syrup-then-i-m-hyper-so-i-just-run-around-like-crazy/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I have to say, I grew up with fashion because my mother was a seamstress, and she had an atelier. 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