"When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly"
About this Quote
The subtext is pragmatic, almost athletic. Creativity here isn’t divine visitation; it’s a bodily rhythm. Food, movement, and restlessness aren’t background details, they’re part of the instrument. Coming from a working musician who wrote on commission and lived amid relentless social obligations, the quote also hints at stolen hours. If you’re Mozart, the day belongs to patrons, rehearsals, lessons, and performance. Inspiration has to ambush you in the margins.
There’s a modern feel to his honesty: ideas “flow” when the brain is offline enough to free-associate, but alert enough to catch the thread. He’s describing what we’d now call incubation - except he frames it with the grace of someone who trusts his own inner machinery. The charm is that it demystifies genius without diminishing it: the magic is real, but it has a schedule, and it keeps odd hours.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. (2026, January 15). When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-am-traveling-in-a-carriage-or-walking-171009/
Chicago Style
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. "When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-am-traveling-in-a-carriage-or-walking-171009/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-i-am-traveling-in-a-carriage-or-walking-171009/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







