--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For some people, success is a zero sum…" description: "\"For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think that if they push other people out of the way, fewer people can compete with them. That's one w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/a-lelia-bundles-9724_compete_for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-ga_47813.jpg" --- # For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think… ![“For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think that if they push other people out of the way, fewer people can compete with them. That's one way of seeing the world. It's dog eat dog. It's, sadly, always going to be there.” quote by A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/a-lelia-bundles-9724_compete_for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-ga_47813.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/a-lelia-bundles-9724_compete_for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-ga_47813.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/324/a-lelia-bundles-9724_compete_for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-ga_47813.jpg) > “For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think that if they push other people out of the way, fewer people can compete with them. That's one way of seeing the world. It's dog eat dog. It's, sadly, always going to be there.” [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It highlights a competitive mindset where success is seen as limited, leading to a belief that advancing requires others to be displaced. **In simple terms:** Zero‑sum view of achievement. Key Takeaway Competition can be perceived as mutually exclusive. Themes competition mindset success scarcity social dynamics Mood cautious reflective critical Type observation cautionary When to use this quote - career advancement - market competition - political power struggles - sports rankings Key Concepts zero‑sum thinking dog‑eat‑dog mentality Practical Applications - leadership coaching - organizational culture analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does a zero‑sum perspective affect teamwork? - What strategies can shift this mindset toward mutual benefit? A Different Perspective Not all environments are zero‑sum; collaboration often expands opportunities for all participants. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Seeing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing-the-world/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Zero sum game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zero-sum-game/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing will come of forcing yourself to compete your way out of trauma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/nothing-will-come-of-forcing-yourself-to-compete-your-way-out-of/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) > [“But, he warned, “I’m not sure that the next candidate after me is going to be able to compete in that same way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/but-he-warned-i-m-not-sure-that-the-next-candidate-after-me-is-going/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [I'm not into any show that makes people compete when they lose weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-m-not-into-any-show-that-makes-people-compete-when-they-lose-weight/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [The government is supposed to provide a level playing field where people can compete fairly. It's not supposed to cut deals with one company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-government-is-supposed-to-provide-a-level-playing-field-where/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [There's a show in America where all these people compete with ferrets, and they don't even do anything. They basically just hold them up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/there-s-a-show-in-america-where-all-these-people-compete-with-ferrets/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“Successful people compete against themselves, not against other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/successful-people-compete-against-themselves-not-against-other-people/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [People compete. Sometimes it gets heated, sometimes it doesn't. That's for when you're on the field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/people-compete-sometimes-it-gets-heated-sometimes-it-doesn-t-that-s/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) > [You become a character in a meta-drama into which your own dramatizing has pitched you. The rewards can be fantastic, the punishments dismal; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/you-become-a-character-in-a-meta-drama-into-which-your-own/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I don't look at business as a zero-sum game. I don't. I've never seen it play out that way in our industry, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-benioff/i-don-t-look-at-business-as-a-zero-sum-game-i-don-t-i-ve-never-seen/) [Marc Benioff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-benioff/) > [Much of our national debate proceeds as if China and America were locked in a zero-sum game in which one's loss is precisely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/much-of-our-national-debate-proceeds-as-if-china-and-america-were/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [There are a couple of watersheds in human evolution. Most people are comfortable thinking about tool use and language use as watersheds. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/there-are-a-couple-of-watersheds-in-human-evolution-most-people-are/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [At least half of the popular fallacies about economics come from assuming that economic activity is a zero-sum game, in which what is gained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/at-least-half-of-the-popular-fallacies-about-economics-come-from/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you are in a relationship, you are aware that it might end. You might grow apart, find someone else, simply fall out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/when-you-are-in-a-relationship-you-are-aware-that-it-might-end-you/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [The funny thing about advertising is that it's not a zero-sum game... Historically, in the digital ad world, pie has gotten larger and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/the-funny-thing-about-advertising-is-that-it-s-not-a-zero-sum-game/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [The discussion of derivatives in the political world has become a zero sum game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-himes/the-discussion-of-derivatives-in-the-political-world-has-become-a/) [Jim Himes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-himes/) ## More by A'Lelia Bundles > [It's very hard to be a kid, especially in a predominantly white school or white town where other people want to police your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/it-s-very-hard-to-be-a-kid-especially-in-a-predominantly-white-school/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [A'Lelia Walker did not subsidize specific writers, but she provided a place for all kinds of people to gather. She was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/a-lelia-walker-did-not-subsidize-specific-writers-but-she-provided-a/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Madam Walker's name gets thrown out as either the savior of black women's hair or she's the evil devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/madam-walker-s-name-gets-thrown-out-as-either-the-savior-of-black/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Madame Walker selected Indianapolis as the headquarters for her growing business more than a century ago in 1910 because of its central location and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/madame-walker-selected-indianapolis-as-the-headquarters-for-her/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Why is she Mrs. C.J. Walker? It really was a matter of her trying to insist that people respect her, because during that time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/why-is-she-mrs-c-j-walker-it-really-was-a-matter-of-her-trying-to/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [For more than three years, I'd been part of a complex and frustrating dance as my nonfiction, fact-based material was translated from book to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/for-more-than-three-years-i-d-been-part-of-a-complex-and-frustrating/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [I know of at least two black women who are billionaires: Sheila Johnson, who co-founded BET, and Oprah Winfrey. And I know of hundreds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/i-know-of-at-least-two-black-women-who-are-billionaires-sheila/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [I've found that once people are introduced to Madam Walker's story, they are inspired but also perplexed about why she was omitted from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/i-ve-found-that-once-people-are-introduced-to-madam-walker-s-story/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [I was like other teenagers in the late 1960s; I too was very interested in having an Afro and getting rid of the perm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/i-was-like-other-teenagers-in-the-late-1960s-i-too-was-very/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [I love people who have really long locs. I love how they can go in different directions or pile it up into a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/i-love-people-who-have-really-long-locs-i-love-how-they-can-go-in/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [We didn't sit around the dining table talking about Madam Walker, but the silverware that we used every day had her monogram on it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/we-didn-t-sit-around-the-dining-table-talking-about-madam-walker-but/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Many people have told me that once they learn of Madam Walker's accomplishments they are surprised, even embarrassed, that they have never heard of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/many-people-have-told-me-that-once-they-learn-of-madam-walker-s/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [The saying was that Madam Walker made the money, and her daughter - my great-grandmother - spent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/the-saying-was-that-madam-walker-made-the-money-and-her-daughter-my/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Every ethnic group has a mythology... Until 'Roots'... there was nothing in the popular culture to refute the paragraph in elementary school history class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/every-ethnic-group-has-a-mythology-until-roots-there-was-nothing-in/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [There are literally hundreds of stories about women of color that haven't been told that are amazing, fantastic, better than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/there-are-literally-hundreds-of-stories-about-women-of-color-that/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) [Explore all 70 A'Lelia Bundles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) ## More Compete quotes > [Honestly, we’ll compete with everybody. I love competition. As long as people invent their own stuff, I love competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/honestly-we-ll-compete-with-everybody-i-love-competition-as-long-as/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [You don't go into the game to compete. You go into each game to win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-newton/you-don-t-go-into-the-game-to-compete-you-go-into-each-game-to-win/) [Cam Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-newton/) > [The Way of the Sage is to act but not to compete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-way-of-the-sage-is-to-act-but-not-to-compete/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [For me, it's more important to bring my level up and make sure that I can compete against guys in the top 100 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-shapovalov/for-me-it-s-more-important-to-bring-my-level-up-and-make-sure-that-i/) [Denis Shapovalov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-shapovalov/) > [I love to compete. That's the essence of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-love-to-compete-that-s-the-essence-of-who-i-am/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [When I was young, all I wanted to do was to compete, have fun and travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-gaylord/when-i-was-young-all-i-wanted-to-do-was-to-compete-have-fun-and-travel/) [Mitch Gaylord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-gaylord/) > [“The secret to unseating great power, is not to move the other direction, but to compete directly against their goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/the-secret-to-unseating-great-power-is-not-to-move-the-other/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [There are a lot of champions out there, a lot of great guys, but I think that the way I compete and my fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-pettis/there-are-a-lot-of-champions-out-there-a-lot-of-great-guys-but-i/) [Anthony Pettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-pettis/) > [“Successful people compete against themselves, not against other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/successful-people-compete-against-themselves-not-against-other-people/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [Most people should be given a chance to compete in the Olympic Games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-the-eagle/most-people-should-be-given-a-chance-to-compete-in-the-olympic-games/) [Eddie the Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-the-eagle/) > [The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-reese/the-hardest-skill-to-acquire-in-this-sport-is-the-one-where-you/) Eddie Reese > [They wanted me to lead these young players, teach them the way to compete, when the only thing I should be worried about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kinsler/they-wanted-me-to-lead-these-young-players-teach-them-the-way-to/) Ian Kinsler > [We can't live true to our set of values unless American educational system is strong. I really believe that if we don't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/we-can-t-live-true-to-our-set-of-values-unless-american-educational/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [I write what I like to read, and I enjoy love triangles in YA and adult fiction - not to mention in other media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/i-write-what-i-like-to-read-and-i-enjoy-love-triangles-in-ya-and/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [My strategy is just to always compete. Even if they catch 10 balls on me, I make sure that they have to fight for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-harris-jr/my-strategy-is-just-to-always-compete-even-if-they-catch-10-balls-on/) [Chris Harris, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-harris-jr/) Browse all 999 Compete quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For some people, success is a zero sum game. 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