Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

Modern influential 96 sayings

Sayings by Ray Bradbury

I think the greatest adventure is life itself. It's a journey full of surprises, twists, and turns.

2000 — Interview, 'The New York Times'
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm not a fan of organized sports. I think it's too competitive. I think it takes away from the joy of playing.

1996 — Interview, 'Playboy'
Controversial Unverifiable

I think the most important thing in a relationship is trust. Without trust, you have nothing.

2002 — Interview, 'Reason.com'
Controversial Unverifiable

I don't believe in luck. I believe in hard work. I believe in perseverance. I believe in never giving up.

2000 — Speech at a commencement ceremony
Controversial Unverifiable

I think the greatest gift you can give yourself is time. Time to think. Time to dream. Time to create.

1976 — Interview, 'The Paris Review'
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm not a fan of modern art. I think it's too abstract. I think it's lost its connection to humanity.

2000 — Interview, 'Locus Online'
Controversial Unverifiable

I think the most important thing in life is to have a sense of humor. To be able to laugh at yourself. To not take yourself too seriously.

2000 — Interview, 'The New York Times'
Controversial Unverifiable

I don't believe in destiny. I believe in choice. I believe that we create our own future.

1996 — Interview, 'Playboy'
Controversial Unverifiable

I think the greatest joy in life is to create something new. To bring something into existence that didn't exist before.

1995 — Speech at a writing conference
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm not a fan of reality television. I think it's a waste of time. I think it's a distraction from real life.

2009 — Interview, 'Los Angeles Times'
Controversial Unverifiable

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

N/A — Attributed often, commonly cited as a personal philosophy
Humorous Unverifiable

Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it's the history of ideas, the history of our civilization. It's the history of all the things that are going to happen to us.

2000 — Interview with Library of Congress
Humorous Unverifiable

Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't try to do things. You just must do things.

1990 — Zen in the Art of Writing
Humorous Unverifiable

I've been running a race all my life. It's called 'I'm not going to die until I've written every damn thing I can think of.'

2009 — Interview with The Guardian
Humorous Unverifiable

Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.

1953 — Fahrenheit 451
Humorous Unverifiable

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

N/A — Attributed, widely circulated, often cited in talks/interviews
Humorous Unverifiable

I'm not a serious person. I'm a seriously happy person.

N/A — Interview, exact source hard to pinpoint, but a recurring theme in his self-description
Humorous Unverifiable

I was born in 1920, and I haven't grown up yet. I'm still a 12-year-old boy. I'm still in love with the world. I'm still curious. I'm still excited by everything. And I'm still writing.

2010 — Interview with The Big Think
Humorous Unverifiable

If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever created.

1990 — Zen in the Art of Writing
Humorous Unverifiable

I don't try to predict the future. I try to prevent it.

N/A — Interview, often cited in relation to Fahrenheit 451
Humorous Unverifiable