Paul Arden Quotations

You need to aim beyond what you are capable of. You must develop a complete disregard for where your abilities end. Try to do things that you're incapable of... If you think you're incapable of running a company, make that your aim... Make your vision of where you want to be a reality. Nothing is impossible.

Have you noticed that the cleverest people at school are often not the ones who succeed in life?

Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great.

There are rules in advertising, and those rules are self-imposed by the client companies because they don't want their products to be seen as dishonest.

I watch TV more than I used to, and the commercials don't impress me. The standard of execution is very high, but the standard of ideas is appalling.

If you get stuck, draw with a different pen. Change your tools; it may free your thinking.

Your vision of where or who you want to be is your greatest asset.

We are all advertising, all of the time. If you want to sell your car, what do you do? You clean and polish it and make it the best you can. Some people bake bread when they are trying to sell their house because the smell adds a friendly feeling. Even the priest, with all his or her fervour, is advertising God. Everybody is selling.

Advertising gets such a bashing from the world. At parties you are always asked, 'Aren't you just selling people things they don't want?

Great people have great egos; maybe that's what makes them great.

having too many ideas is not always a good thing.

I've now discovered that if you know what you want and try hard to achieve it, everyone else will try hard, too.

The world is what YOU think of it, so think of it DIFFERENTLY and your life will change.

We try to make sensible decisions with the facts in front of us. The problem with sensible decisions is that so is everyone else.

Without having a goal it's difficult to score.

Knowledge comes from the past, so it's safe. It is also out of date. It's the opposite of originality... Experience is the opposite of being creative.

Risks are a measure of people. People who don't take them are trying to preserve what they have. Some risks have a future, and some people call them wrong. But being right may be like walking backwards, proving where you've been.

Don't give a speech. Put on a show.

You will become whoever you want to be.

it's wrong to be right; it's right to be wrong.

Life's all about 'me' anyway

How you perceive yourself is how others will see you.

Religion is a light bulb, created by man to help him to see in the dark.

Even when we want to be timid and play it safe, we should pause for a moment to imagine what we might be missing.

Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you go, and fix it along the way…

i wish means: would it be nice if.. i want means: if i want it enough i will get it.

It's never the next brief, it's ALWAYS THIS brief .

Do not put cleverness in front of the communication.

Do not covet your ideas.

Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you've got, and fix it as you go.

We are always waiting for the perfect brief from the perfect client. It almost never happens [...] Whatever is on your desk right now, that's the one. Make it the best you possibly can.

It's not how good you are it's how good you want to be

Risks are a measure of people. People who won't take them are trying to preserve what they have. People who do take them often end up having more. Some risks have a future, and some people call them wrong. But being right may be like walking backwards proving where you've been. Being wrong isn't in the future, or in the past. Being wrong isn't anywhere but being here. Best place to be, eh?

Start taking bad decisions and it will take you to a place where others only dream of being.

Don't be afraid of silly ideas.

Do not seek praise. Seek criticism.

Nearly all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming or good-looking. They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful.

Everything we do we choose. So what is there to regret? You are the person you chose to be.

Most people are reasonable. That's why they only do reasonably well.

Be your own worst critic. When things go wrong it's tempting to shift the blame. Don't. Accept responsibility. People will appreciate it, and you will find out what you're capable of.

The perosn who doesn't make mistakes is unlikely to make anything.

Old golfers don't win (it's not an absolute, it's a general rule). Why? The older golfer can hit the ball as far as the young one. He chips and putts equally well. And will probably have a better knowledge of the course. So why does he take the extra stroke that denies him victory? Experience. He knows the downside, what happens if it goes wrong, which makes him more cautious. The young player is either ignorant or reckless to caution. That is his edge. It is the same with all of us. Knowledge makes us play safe. The secret is to stay childish.

The more strikingly visual your presentation is, the more people will remember it. And more importantly, they will remember you.

Be unfashionable. Take risks.

Don't look for the next opportunity, the one you have in hand is the opportunity

When it can't be done, do it. If you don't do it, it doesn't exist.

Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal it’s difficult to score.

It's better to regret what you have done than what you haven't.

Even a bad idea executed is better than a good idea undone.

The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you will become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish. Somehow the more you give away the more comes back to you.

If you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.

If you can't solve a problem, it's because you're playing by the rules