Quote of the Day: Arnold H. Glasow on Success

Before he became a quotable name on office walls and in boardrooms, Arnold H. Glasow made his living where results are unforgiving: business. In that arena, a clever notion doesn’t pay the bills, only the shipped product, the signed customer, the improved process does. That lived reality is packed into his blunt reminder: “Ideas not coupled with action never become bigger than the brain cells they occupied.”

We like ideas because they feel like progress without demanding exposure. An idea is clean; action is messy. But until you move, your best thinking remains private, confined to a few neurons, untested by feedback, unshaped by constraints, and invisible to everyone you hope to help. Action is what gives an idea gravity in the real world. It turns imagination into something that can be measured, improved, and shared.

There’s also a psychological gift here. Taking action, even small action, reduces the anxious pressure that builds when you carry possibilities around all day. Execution forces clarity: you discover what matters, what’s missing, and what was only a fantasy. That’s how ordinary ideas become extraordinary outcomes: not through brilliance, but through repetition, adjustment, and the steady courage of courage.

Arnold H. Glasow earned credibility by pairing sharp satire with practical business sense, distilling hard-won lessons into one-liners that executives and everyday people can actually use.

Today, pick one idea you’ve been “saving” and shrink it into a 15-minute starter step: draft the first paragraph, send the first email, build the rough version, make the call. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for contact with reality, because success begins the moment your idea leaves your head and enters your hands. May your next step be small, honest, and taken today.