--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way you get good ideas is to do two…" description: "\"“The way you get good ideas is to do two things: 1) Read two hours a day. 2) Write ten ideas a day. By the end of a year, you will have read for almost..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/james-altucher-1597_books_the-way-you-get-good-ideas-is-to-do-two_468941.jpg" --- # The way you get good ideas is to do two things: 1) Read… ![“The way you get good ideas is to do two things: 1) Read two hours a day. 2) Write ten ideas a day. By the end of a year, you will have read for almost one thousand hours and written down 3,600 ideas. One of these ideas will be a home run.” quote by James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/james-altucher-1597_books_the-way-you-get-good-ideas-is-to-do-two_468941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/james-altucher-1597_books_the-way-you-get-good-ideas-is-to-do-two_468941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/james-altucher-1597_books_the-way-you-get-good-ideas-is-to-do-two_468941.jpg) > ““The way you get good ideas is to do two things: 1) Read two hours a day. 2) Write ten ideas a day. By the end of a year, you will have read for almost one thousand hours and written down 3,600 ideas. One of these ideas will be a home run.”” [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consistent reading and idea generation build a large pool of concepts, increasing the chance of a breakthrough. **In simple terms:** Read and write ideas daily to create many possibilities. Key Takeaway Keep a daily habit of reading and noting ideas. Themes productivity creativity habit formation Mood motivational pragmatic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - writing - innovation - career planning Key Concepts Idea incubation skill development Questions to Reflect On - How many ideas do you generate daily? - What reading habits boost your creativity? A Different Perspective Quantity does not guarantee quality; ideas may be superficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Good ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) [Home run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-run/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [We're witnessing the end of a 5,000 year reign of patriarchy, and are coming into a society created by our technology that will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-shlain/we-re-witnessing-the-end-of-a-5-000-year-reign-of-patriarchy-and-are/) [Leonard Shlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-shlain/) > [“It would mark the end of a year that he might look back on as hands, a pivot between two lines. Or not: maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/it-would-mark-the-end-of-a-year-that-he-might-look-back-on-as-hands-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I really do believe that chance favours a prepared mind. Wallace Stegner, who was one of my teachers when I was at Stanford, preached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-turow/i-really-do-believe-that-chance-favours-a-prepared-mind-wallace/) [Scott Turow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-turow/) > [“It is something they will see everywhere - a disregard for danger, a companionship with death. By the end of a year they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-doerr/it-is-something-they-will-see-everywhere-a-disregard-for-danger-a/) [Harriet Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-doerr/) > [Action is hope. At the end of each day, when you've done your work, you lie there and think, Well, I'll be damned, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/action-is-hope-at-the-end-of-each-day-when-you-ve-done-your-work-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Always write your ideas down however silly or trivial they might seem. Keep a notebook with you at all times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/always-write-your-ideas-down-however-silly-or-trivial-they-might-seem/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [To develop the creative attitude, analyze and focus on the wanted SOLUTION; seek out and fill your mind with the FACTS; write down ideas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/to-develop-the-creative-attitude-analyze-and-focus-on-the-wanted/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [If you take a few days to write an outline, you're just making up scenes that you think will work, that you think will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/if-you-take-a-few-days-to-write-an-outline-you-re-just-making-up/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I wish I could write. I get these ideas but I never seem to be able to put them in words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-wish-i-could-write-i-get-these-ideas-but-i-never-seem-to-be-able-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I keep a composition book with me at all times to write rhymes, to write down ideas, write down my thoughts, you know just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordae/i-keep-a-composition-book-with-me-at-all-times-to-write-rhymes-to/) [Cordae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordae/) > [I always find myself stopping to write down ideas of things I'd like to make from computer hardware items to things new moms need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-loeb/i-always-find-myself-stopping-to-write-down-ideas-of-things-i-d-like/) [Lisa Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-loeb/) > [I used to write poems more when I was younger, but I haven't in a long time. I just write ideas and paragraphs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/i-used-to-write-poems-more-when-i-was-younger-but-i-haven-t-in-a-long/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [We take Aristotle seriously not when we write about his ideas, but when we take his ideas as part of our discussions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-l-garfield/we-take-aristotle-seriously-not-when-we-write-about-his-ideas-but/) [Jay L. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-l-garfield/) > [I have reached the point where I know that as long as I sit down to write, the ideas will come. What they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/i-have-reached-the-point-where-i-know-that-as-long-as-i-sit-down-to/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) > [I read and write but my ideas don't go beyond the first draft. When they will, I will make it into a film probably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antara-mali/i-read-and-write-but-my-ideas-don-t-go-beyond-the-first-draft-when/) [Antara Mali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antara-mali/) ## More by James Altucher > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [Take control of who you report to, what you do, what you create. Or start a business on the side. 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But it's more than just bragging about failure, which could be a form of ego.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/honesty-is-about-the-scars-it-s-about-the-blemishes-but-it-s-more/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [Poker is a charismatic game. People who are larger than life play poker and make their living from playing games and hustling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/poker-is-a-charismatic-game-people-who-are-larger-than-life-play/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [Help is a conversation. If one side talks too much, the other side will get bored. So make sure you help back when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/help-is-a-conversation-if-one-side-talks-too-much-the-other-side-will/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Finally, I started to care more about getting better than about winning. I started to study my losses. 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Even if you are afraid of what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/be-honest-about-mistakes-even-if-you-are-afraid-of-what-people-think/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) [Explore all 224 James Altucher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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