--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suppose Mozart had tried to be original?…" description: "\"Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have been like a man at the North Pole trying to walk north, and this is true of all of the rest of u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/keith-johnstone-13430_creativity_suppose-mozart-had-tried-to-be-original_125608.png" --- # Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have… ![“Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have been like a man at the North Pole trying to walk north, and this is true of all of the rest of us. Striving after originality takes you far away from your true self, and makes your work mediocre.” quote by Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/keith-johnstone-13430_creativity_suppose-mozart-had-tried-to-be-original_125608.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/keith-johnstone-13430_creativity_suppose-mozart-had-tried-to-be-original_125608.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/keith-johnstone-13430_creativity_suppose-mozart-had-tried-to-be-original_125608.png) > “Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have been like a man at the North Pole trying to walk north, and this is true of all of the rest of us. Striving after originality takes you far away from your true self, and makes your work mediocre.” [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting forced originality is futile; true creativity emerges from authentic expression, not contrived novelty. **In simple terms:** Originality should be natural, not forced. Key Takeaway Authenticity beats contrived originality. Themes creativity authenticity originality Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - artistic creation - writing workshops - design brainstorming Key Concepts self‑expression Practical Applications - focus on personal voice before novelty Questions to Reflect On - When is deliberate novelty beneficial? - How can one balance authenticity with innovation? A Different Perspective Some fields reward novelty even if it feels forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mozart/) [North pole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/north-pole/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [True self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-self/) ## Related quotes > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [“Go with polar bears, I say to myself. Polar bears at the North Pole. 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This will be the last...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-shackleton/now-my-eyes-are-turned-from-the-south-to-the-north-and-i-want-to-lead/) [Ernest Shackleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-shackleton/) > [Fame always brings loneliness. Success is as ice cold and lonely as the North Pole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/fame-always-brings-loneliness-success-is-as-ice-cold-and-lonely-as/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) > [“The next year, British swimmer and ecologist Lewis Gordon Pugh set out from the northern island of Spitzbergen to kayak 1,200 km to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goreham/the-next-year-british-swimmer-and-ecologist-lewis-gordon-pugh-set-out/) [Steve Goreham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goreham/) ## More by Keith Johnstone > [An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He’s not making any decisions, he’s not weighing one idea against another. He’s accepting his first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/an-artist-who-is-inspired-is-being-obvious-he-s-not-making-any/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [I was crazy about silent comedy - in the old days, and crazy about Japanese movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/i-was-crazy-about-silent-comedy-in-the-old-days-and-crazy-about/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [The problem's always been to deal with the fear.Cos the fear is pretty . . . it ruins everybody really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/the-problem-s-always-been-to-deal-with-the-fear-cos-the-fear-is/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [None of us really grow up. 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Even if they didn't know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/you-can-sort-of-trick-people-into-being-really-good-even-if-they-didn/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [The best laughs are on the recognition of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/the-best-laughs-are-on-the-recognition-of-truth/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [If you have a good idea, open your mouth and say something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/if-you-have-a-good-idea-open-your-mouth-and-say-something-else/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [Enjoy things even when you’re screwing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/enjoy-things-even-when-you-re-screwing-up/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [My feeling is the moment the theatre is not full you have to do something else. But most people somehow think 'If we did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/my-feeling-is-the-moment-the-theatre-is-not-full-you-have-to-do/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) > [Light entertainment means it mustn't teach you anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-johnstone/light-entertainment-means-it-mustn-t-teach-you-anything/) [Keith Johnstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) [Explore all 50 Keith Johnstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-johnstone/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Suppose Mozart had tried to be original? It would have been like a man at the North Pole trying to walk north, and this is true of all of the rest of us. 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