--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Serious people have few ideas. People…" description: "\"Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.\" — Paul Valery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/paul-valery-1464_ideas_serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-wit_61522.jpg" --- # Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never… ![“Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.” quote by Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/paul-valery-1464_ideas_serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-wit_61522.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/paul-valery-1464_ideas_serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-wit_61522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/923/paul-valery-1464_ideas_serious-people-have-few-ideas-people-wit_61522.jpg) > “Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.” [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seriousness often suppresses creativity; those who constantly generate ideas tend to be less constrained by formality. **In simple terms:** Creativity vs. seriousness Key Takeaway Ideas thrive outside rigid seriousness Themes creativity seriousness innovation mindset freedom Mood playful provocative Type aphorism observation When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - artistic pursuits - entrepreneurial ventures - informal discussions - creative workshops Key Concepts idea generation cognitive flexibility Practical Applications - encouraging open brainstorming - fostering innovative cultures Questions to Reflect On - How does seriousness affect creative output? - Can one be both serious and inventive? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-people/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-ideas/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) ## Related quotes > [Serious-minded people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/serious-minded-people-have-few-ideas-people-with-ideas-are-never/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“You cannot change the world with ideas. People with few ideas are less likely to make mistakes; they follow what everyone else does and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/you-cannot-change-the-world-with-ideas-people-with-few-ideas-are-less/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [What is Oracle? A bunch of people. And all of our products were just ideas in the heads of those people - ideas that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-ellison/what-is-oracle-a-bunch-of-people-and-all-of-our-products-were-just/) [Larry Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-ellison/) > [A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-bushnell/a-lot-of-people-have-ideas-but-there-are-few-who-decide-to-do/) [Nolan Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-bushnell/) > [The world is a very big place and there are many wonderful people in with ideas you haven't thought about. Talk to them, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-morgan/the-world-is-a-very-big-place-and-there-are-many-wonderful-people-in/) [Nick Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-morgan/) > [I just love to collaborate with people who take my ideas real serious, and they don't put up walls around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diplo/i-just-love-to-collaborate-with-people-who-take-my-ideas-real-serious/) [Diplo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diplo/) > [The people that are around me that give me ideas that I pass along or we try, the one thing I never do, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calipari/the-people-that-are-around-me-that-give-me-ideas-that-i-pass-along-or/) [John Calipari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calipari/) > [...remember the dangers of the New Groupthink. If it's creativity you're after, ask your employees to solve problems alone before sharing their ideas. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/remember-the-dangers-of-the-new-groupthink-if-it-s-creativity-you-re/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [Politics lives in people, ideas live in people, they live in the concrete struggles that people have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/politics-lives-in-people-ideas-live-in-people-they-live-in-the/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [You can present people with ideas they may come to believe in, and as a result of them they will act, if they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/you-can-present-people-with-ideas-they-may-come-to-believe-in-and-as/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I don't do much more than organise other people's ideas and insights and thoughts, and sort of harvest them, and inventory them and present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-don-t-do-much-more-than-organise-other-people-s-ideas-and-insights/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Wouldn't it be great, if there was a one-stop shop where funny people could take their ideas and have them made?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-henry/wouldn-t-it-be-great-if-there-was-a-one-stop-shop-where-funny-people/) [Lenny Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-henry/) > [There's a lot of social input when you put these things out there. People's ideas cross with other people's thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biz-stone/there-s-a-lot-of-social-input-when-you-put-these-things-out-there/) [Biz Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biz-stone/) > [So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/so-when-a-good-idea-comes-you-know-part-of-my-job-is-to-move-it/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“It’s not a good idea to let on about extreme happy feelings. People get ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-juby/it-s-not-a-good-idea-to-let-on-about-extreme-happy-feelings-people/) [Susan Juby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-juby/) ## More by Paul Valery > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“O Socrates, the universe cannot for one instant endure to be only what it is. It is strange to think that that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/o-socrates-the-universe-cannot-for-one-instant-endure-to-be-only-what/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [We civilizations now know ourselves mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/we-civilizations-now-know-ourselves-mortal/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“I am now going to make an admission. I confess, I agree, that all these good people who protested, who laughed, who did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/i-am-now-going-to-make-an-admission-i-confess-i-agree-that-all-these/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Degas is one of the very few painters who have given the floor its true importance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/degas-is-one-of-the-very-few-painters-who-have-given-the-floor-its/) [Paul Valéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Politics is the art of preventing people from busying themselves with what is their own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/politics-is-the-art-of-preventing-people-from-busying-themselves-with/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [God created man and, finding him not sufficiently alone, gave him a companion to make him feel his solitude more keenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/god-created-man-and-finding-him-not-sufficiently-alone-gave-him-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The most ridiculous were those who, on their own authority, made themselves the judges and justices of the tribe. They seemed never to suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-most-ridiculous-were-those-who-on-their-own-authority-made/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The folly of mistaking oneself for an oracle is built right into us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/the-folly-of-mistaking-oneself-for-an-oracle-is-built-right-into-us/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Thought must be hidden in the verse like nutritional virtue in a fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/thought-must-be-hidden-in-the-verse-like-nutritional-virtue-in-a-fruit/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To be sincere means to be the same person when one is with oneself; that is to say, alone - but that is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/to-be-sincere-means-to-be-the-same-person-when-one-is-with-oneself/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [No work of art is ever completed, it is only abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/no-work-of-art-is-ever-completed-it-is-only-abandoned/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Interruption, incoherence, surprise are the ordinary conditions of our life. They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [Whatever we succeed in doing is a transformation of something we have failed to do. Thus, when we fail, it is only because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/whatever-we-succeed-in-doing-is-a-transformation-of-something-we-have/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More Ideas 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/) > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. It is an incredibly inspiring and challenging job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hanson/i-know-for-my-wife-and-i-we-always-loved-the-idea-of-being-young/) [Taylor Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hanson/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 24,908 Ideas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Serious people have few ideas. 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