--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our…" description: "\"Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our factory a little more valuable. Our factory is a sideshow that makes our ideas a little more valuable!\" — Seth Godin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/seth-godin-152_factories_ideas-aren-t-a-sideshow-that-make-our-fa_1223628.png" --- # Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our factory a little… ![“Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our factory a little more valuable. Our factory is a sideshow that makes our ideas a little more valuable!” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/seth-godin-152_factories_ideas-aren-t-a-sideshow-that-make-our-fa_1223628.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/seth-godin-152_factories_ideas-aren-t-a-sideshow-that-make-our-fa_1223628.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ce/seth-godin-152_factories_ideas-aren-t-a-sideshow-that-make-our-fa_1223628.png) > “Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our factory a little more valuable. Our factory is a sideshow that makes our ideas a little more valuable!” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He flips the idea that ideas are secondary, arguing that the environment (factory) can enhance the value of ideas, and vice versa. **In simple terms:** Ideas and environment boost each other. Key Takeaway Leverage context to amplify ideas. Themes creativity marketing value creation Mood inspirational strategic Type advice motivational When to use this quote - product launches - brand building - creative workshops - startup pivots Key Concepts Systems thinking innovation reciprocity Questions to Reflect On - What context can you change to strengthen your idea? - How does environment shape perception? A Different Perspective May ignore intrinsic idea quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Sideshows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sideshows/) ## Related quotes > [The teacher is one who makes two ideas grow where only one grew before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/the-teacher-is-one-who-makes-two-ideas-grow-where-only-one-grew-before/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Ideas are like dreams; they will disappear unless we record them. Write a book, a blog, build a company, anything that makes the ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/ideas-are-like-dreams-they-will-disappear-unless-we-record-them-write/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [So human capital makes ideas, and ideas help make human capital. But still, they're conceptually distinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/so-human-capital-makes-ideas-and-ideas-help-make-human-capital-but/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [I used to sit and draw in the evening with a couple of crates of beer. That makes the ideas flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-linley/i-used-to-sit-and-draw-in-the-evening-with-a-couple-of-crates-of-beer/) [David Linley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-linley/) > [“You can't live in the world without an idea of the world, but it's living that makes the ideas. You can't wait for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/you-can-t-live-in-the-world-without-an-idea-of-the-world-but-it-s/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [So far as the colleges go, the sideshows are swallowing up the circus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/so-far-as-the-colleges-go-the-sideshows-are-swallowing-up-the-circus/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If the euro zone doesn't come up with a comprehensive vision of its own future, you'll have a whole range of nationalist, xenophobic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/if-the-euro-zone-doesn-t-come-up-with-a-comprehensive-vision-of-its/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/i-am-an-invisible-man-no-i-am-not-a-spook-like-those-who-haunted/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“Circuses are about entertainment and juggling and animals and all that shit. Sideshows are about freaks, about people and the limits of acceptability. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/circuses-are-about-entertainment-and-juggling-and-animals-and-all/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Television is god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/television-is-god-damned-amusement-park-television-is-a-circus-a/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [The literary man? An indiscreet man, who devaluates his miseries, divulges them, tells them like so many beads: immodesty-the sideshow of second thoughts-is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-literary-man-an-indiscreet-man-who-devaluates-his-miseries/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [I am alone in possessing a key to this barbarous sideshow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-alone-in-possessing-a-key-to-this-barbarous-sideshow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Television is not the truth! Television is a goddamned amusement park. Television is a circus, a carnival, a travelling troupe of acrobats and story-tellers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-chayefsky/television-is-not-the-truth-television-is-a-goddamned-amusement-park/) [Paddy Chayefsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-chayefsky/) > [But if you're coming off ACL surgery, you don't need to be having a press conference at OTAs. Every week? Really? It becomes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-mcnabb/but-if-you-re-coming-off-acl-surgery-you-don-t-need-to-be-having-a/) [Donovan McNabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-mcnabb/) > [“Energies expended on sideshows, never on the main event. Where the hell was the main event? Was there a main event?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/energies-expended-on-sideshows-never-on-the-main-event-where-the-hell/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Factories quotes > [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/) Joseph Joffre > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [We're going to create factory jobs for recent immigrants, and Donald Trump is going to take care of them. That's why his numbers, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sessions/we-re-going-to-create-factory-jobs-for-recent-immigrants-and-donald/) [Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sessions/) > [I got Mary pregnant and man that's all she wrote. And for my 19th birthday, I got a union card and a factory coat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-got-mary-pregnant-and-man-that-s-all-she-wrote-and-for-my-19th/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The library is the biggest cracker box factory in the world. The more you eat, the more you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-library-is-the-biggest-cracker-box-factory-in-the-world-the-more/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [LEGO has announced that they are shutting down their U.S. factory and moving it to Canada. LEGO employees say it's their fault because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/lego-has-announced-that-they-are-shutting-down-their-u-s-factory-and/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Someone told me once that Lucinda Williams takes six years between albums, and that's what stuck to me; it's like, you really are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/someone-told-me-once-that-lucinda-williams-takes-six-years-between/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [ I mean, you take a look at this, it's one way. \[Mexicans\] get the jobs, they get the factories, they get the cash, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-mean-you-take-a-look-at-this-it-s-one-way-mexicans-get-the-jobs/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [There was great leadership in this country at the time of World War II. There was also unrelenting resolve at home, in America's factories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-feller/there-was-great-leadership-in-this-country-at-the-time-of-world-war/) [Bob Feller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-feller/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [We recorded that trio and it's out on the Knitting Factory label. I've got another record in the can with that group and Marc,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-recorded-that-trio-and-it-s-out-on-the-knitting-factory-label-i-ve/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The problem, Mr. Fudd, is that you've been having a sublimal effect on everyone in the factory. We're proud of our product, Mr. Fudd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-larson/the-problem-mr-fudd-is-that-you-ve-been-having-a-sublimal-effect-on/) [Gary Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-larson/) > [You can destroy a factory, and they'll build another. But once you destroy a life, that's it. You never get that person back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/you-can-destroy-a-factory-and-they-ll-build-another-but-once-you/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) Browse all 818 Factories quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ideas aren't a sideshow that make our factory a little more valuable. 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