--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Crazy people who are productive are…" description: "\"Crazy people who are productive are geniuses. Crazy people who are rich are eccentric. Crazy people who are neither productive nor rich are just plain ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/michael-j-gelb-27607_chance_crazy-people-who-are-productive-are-geni_434255.jpg" --- # Crazy people who are productive are geniuses. Crazy people… ![“Crazy people who are productive are geniuses. Crazy people who are rich are eccentric. Crazy people who are neither productive nor rich are just plain crazy. Geniuses and crazy people are both out in the middle of a deep ocean; geniuses swim, crazy people drown. Most of us are sitting safely on…” quote by Michael J. Gelb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/michael-j-gelb-27607_chance_crazy-people-who-are-productive-are-geni_434255.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/michael-j-gelb-27607_chance_crazy-people-who-are-productive-are-geni_434255.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/michael-j-gelb-27607_chance_crazy-people-who-are-productive-are-geni_434255.jpg) > “Crazy people who are productive are geniuses. Crazy people who are rich are eccentric. Crazy people who are neither productive nor rich are just plain crazy. Geniuses and crazy people are both out in the middle of a deep ocean; geniuses swim, crazy people drown. Most of us are sitting safely on the shore. Take a chance and get your feet wet.” [Michael J. Gelb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-gelb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative intensity can be both genius and madness; balance risk and action to achieve growth. **In simple terms:** Creative people can be both brilliant and unstable. Key Takeaway Embrace risk, act boldly. Themes creativity risk balance Mood inspirational cautious Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - artistic projects - personal development Key Concepts psychology productivity eccentricity Questions to Reflect On - Are you channeling creative energy productively? - How do you differentiate genius from folly? A Different Perspective Extreme behavior may lead to burnout or instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Classroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classroom/) [Crazy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-people/) [Deep ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deep-ocean/) [Eccentric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentric/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Geniuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geniuses/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Take a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-a-chance/) ## Related quotes > [We have to understand that all geniuses have a crazy side to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanderlei-silva/we-have-to-understand-that-all-geniuses-have-a-crazy-side-to-them/) [Wanderlei Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanderlei-silva/) > [“Lunatics are not the only ones to be called lunatics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/lunatics-are-not-the-only-ones-to-be-called-lunatics/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [The most advanced, creative and original thinking is always a product of historical context and the influences of previous geniuses, mentors, and collaborators on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-gelb/the-most-advanced-creative-and-original-thinking-is-always-a-product/) [Michael J. Gelb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-gelb/) > [So my message is in whichever realm, be it going into space or going into the deep sea, you have to balance the yin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/so-my-message-is-in-whichever-realm-be-it-going-into-space-or-going/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [O unfathomable depth! O Deity eternal! O deep ocean! What more could You give me than to give me Yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/o-unfathomable-depth-o-deity-eternal-o-deep-ocean-what-more-could-you/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! Ten thousand blubber-hunters sweep over thee in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/roll-on-thou-deep-and-dark-blue-ocean-roll-ten-thousand-blubber/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [If you wish to be a mine of jewels, open the deep ocean within your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-you-wish-to-be-a-mine-of-jewels-open-the-deep-ocean-within-your/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [But the 3% who have taken the time and exercised the discipline to decide on a destination and to chart a course sail straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/but-the-3-who-have-taken-the-time-and-exercised-the-discipline-to/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/civilization-is-like-a-thin-layer-of-ice-upon-a-deep-ocean-of-chaos/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [It seems to me absolutely true, that our world, which appears to us the surface of all things, is really the bottom of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-seems-to-me-absolutely-true-that-our-world-which-appears-to-us-the/) [D. 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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 > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. 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