Thinking on Your Feet Requires Preparation

The title sounds like a bit of an contradiction doesn't it?  Thinking on your feet implies that you are not taking time to prepare.  If you wish that you could thinking and speak on your feet (whether defending the faith, counseling someone, or just thinking on your feet in general) this Charles Spurgeon quote is good to reflect on.  I think it emphasizes the hard work and careful thinking and studying which must be a way of life if we are to become good at thinking on our feet.  It seems that good, extemporaneous thinking is the product of training one's mind on a daily basis.  Oftentimes we just want the fruit of hard work, but not the work it takes to get it.  May we be encouraged to pursue good thinking in all areas of our life.

You will not be able to extemporize good thinking unless you have been in the habit of thinking and feeding your mind with abundant and nourishing food. Work hard at every available moment. Store your minds very richly, and then, like merchants with crowded warehouses, you will have goods ready for your customers, and having arranged your good things upon the shelves of your mind, you will be able to hand them down at any time without the laborious process of going to market, sorting, folding, and preparing. . . .  Take it as a rule without exception, that to be able to overflow spontaneously you must be full.