--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your…" description: "\"I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?' Ideas are all around you.\" — Twyla Tharp" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg" --- # I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's… ![“I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?' Ideas are all around you.” quote by Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg) > “I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?' Ideas are all around you.” [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas are ubiquitous and essential, like air; they surround us and require awareness to access. **In simple terms:** Ideas are everywhere, like air. Key Takeaway Notice and capture ideas in everyday moments. Themes creativity inspiration mindfulness Mood reflective energetic Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - writing - design - problem solving - teaching Key Concepts perception environmental awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay open to ideas in routine tasks? - What habits help you notice subtle inspirations? A Different Perspective Ideas can be overlooked if one is distracted or stressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asked/) [Asked Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asked-ideas-1106521/) [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Breathe Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe-ideas-4406108/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-like/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The question I am most often asked is how do I find my ideas? The answer is I don't. Ideas find me. A character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-fritz/the-question-i-am-most-often-asked-is-how-do-i-find-my-ideas-the/) [Jean Fritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-fritz/) > [I'm often asked how I get ideas for my stories. The answer is there's no single way; every story is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-m-often-asked-how-i-get-ideas-for-my-stories-the-answer-is-there-s/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [One of the most common questions writers are asked is "Where do you get your ideas?" But the sad truth is, we don't know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/one-of-the-most-common-questions-writers-are-asked-is-where-do-you/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“My ideas are like a Hydra. Remove a bad one and two good ones will take its place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-petty/my-ideas-are-like-a-hydra-remove-a-bad-one-and-two-good-ones-will/) [Paul E. Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-petty/) > [I'm always having ideas. I'd like to continue being able to realise the ideas I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hewlett/i-m-always-having-ideas-i-d-like-to-continue-being-able-to-realise/) [Jamie Hewlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hewlett/) > [Some of the best times are training camp and getting your ideas in how you'd like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/some-of-the-best-times-are-training-camp-and-getting-your-ideas-in/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [Book ideas are like planes, lined up to approach the runway. Some never leave the gate, but others move quickly to the front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/book-ideas-are-like-planes-lined-up-to-approach-the-runway-some-never/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“Our ideas are like boomerangs,when you throw them they are destined to come back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-chaswal/our-ideas-are-like-boomerangs-when-you-throw-them-they-are-destined/) [Pradeep Chaswal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-chaswal/) > [One day, I can come up with 50 content ideas, and I'm like, 'Boom, I want to do this idea, this idea, this idea.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/one-day-i-can-come-up-with-50-content-ideas-and-i-m-like-boom-i-want/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [ “Ideas... \[are\] like babies - everything about their environment \[says\] they shouldn't exist. But they do. You can't dwell on problems too early, or… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-levy/ideas-are-like-babies-everything-about-their-environment-says-they/) [Steven Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-levy/) > [Ideas, like large rivers, never have just one source.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willy-ley/ideas-like-large-rivers-never-have-just-one-source/) [Willy Ley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willy-ley/) > [I'm really quite bad at coming up with plot ideas. I like to create characters and just see what will happen to them when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/i-m-really-quite-bad-at-coming-up-with-plot-ideas-i-like-to-create/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [The beauty of ideas is that they are like waves in the ocean and they connect with things that came before them, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/the-beauty-of-ideas-is-that-they-are-like-waves-in-the-ocean-and-they/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [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/) ## More by Twyla Tharp > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have learned over the years that you should never save for two meetings what you can accomplish in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-learned-over-the-years-that-you-should-never-save-for-two/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-always-find-that-the-best-collaborations-are-when-you-work-with/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-mean-this-but-i-m-going-to-say-it-anyway-i-don-t-really-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [The art of these Fifties movies was in sustaining forever the moment before sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/the-art-of-these-fifties-movies-was-in-sustaining-forever-the-moment/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [This is not a pleasant route for many young people to consider. You have to be either hopelessly passionate, or very stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/this-is-not-a-pleasant-route-for-many-young-people-to-consider-you/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I often say that in making dances I can make a world where I think things are done morally, done democratically, done honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-often-say-that-in-making-dances-i-can-make-a-world-where-i-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I had received my first establishment grants in response to applications filed the year before. To the pages of baffling forms I had simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-had-received-my-first-establishment-grants-in-response-to/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-think-that-scheduling-is-uncreative-i-think-that-structure-is/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have always felt one of the things dance should do - its business being so clearly physical - is challenge the culture's gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-always-felt-one-of-the-things-dance-should-do-its-business/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [There really is nothing I ever had access to that I didn't appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-really-is-nothing-i-ever-had-access-to-that-i-didn-t-appreciate/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Destiny, quite often, is a determined parent. Mozart was hardly some naive prodigy who sat down at the keyboard and, with God whispering in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/destiny-quite-often-is-a-determined-parent-mozart-was-hardly-some/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [When it all comes together, a creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-it-all-comes-together-a-creative-life-has-the-nourishing-power/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Things change all the time, so why do people make such a philosophical to-do that things are constantly in transition?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/things-change-all-the-time-so-why-do-people-make-such-a-philosophical/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) [Explore all 298 Twyla Tharp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) [Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?' Ideas are all around you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Twyla Tharp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-ideas-it-s-like-asking-where-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-ideas-it-s-like-asking-where-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/twyla-tharp-1069_air_i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-id_522574.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm often asked, 'Where do you get your ideas?' ...It's like asking, 'Where do you find air to breathe?'…” — Twyla Tharp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Twyla Tharp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm often asked, 'Where do you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-ideas-it-s-like-asking-where-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-m-often-asked-where-do-you-get-your-ideas-it-s-like-asking-where-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```