--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tend to not discriminate when it comes…" description: "\"I tend to not discriminate when it comes to people I can learn from. Basically, if someone has built a meaningful business in software, technology or m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/aaron-levie-7788_adversity_i-tend-to-not-discriminate-when-it-comes_2882467.jpg" --- # I tend to not discriminate when it comes to people I can… ![“I tend to not discriminate when it comes to people I can learn from. Basically, if someone has built a meaningful business in software, technology or media, faced disruption and adversity, and overcame underdog status, I want to know how they did it.” quote by Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/aaron-levie-7788_adversity_i-tend-to-not-discriminate-when-it-comes_2882467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/aaron-levie-7788_adversity_i-tend-to-not-discriminate-when-it-comes_2882467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/477/aaron-levie-7788_adversity_i-tend-to-not-discriminate-when-it-comes_2882467.jpg) > “I tend to not discriminate when it comes to people I can learn from. Basically, if someone has built a meaningful business in software, technology or media, faced disruption and adversity, and overcame underdog status, I want to know how they did it.” [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeks lessons from resilient entrepreneurs across tech, media, and software. **In simple terms:** Learn from underdog success stories. Key Takeaway Study resilient business models. Themes entrepreneurship resilience learning Mood inquisitive motivational Type business educational When to use this quote - startup mentorship - case studies - industry panels Key Concepts disruption adversity innovation Questions to Reflect On - What traits define resilient founders? - How can you apply their strategies? A Different Perspective Not all underdog stories are replicable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Discriminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate/) [Discriminate Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discriminate-comes-4002424/) [Disruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruption/) [Disruption Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruption-adversity-4002425/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Meaningful Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-business-4002422/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Tend Discriminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tend-discriminate-4002423/) [Underdog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underdog/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Every single industry is going through a major business model and technology oriented disruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/every-single-industry-is-going-through-a-major-business-model-and/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-only-way-to-avoid-disruption-is-to-constantly-do-what-you-would/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Police departments, since the start of the history of this country, have been used to enforce unconstitutional laws that were designed to discriminate against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/police-departments-since-the-start-of-the-history-of-this-country/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [You must discriminate between those who claim to help you and only want to manipulate you and those who are free, who never manipulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-must-discriminate-between-those-who-claim-to-help-you-and-only/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I don't like kids that are pushed into things by stage mums, but when I can see they are having a good time, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/i-don-t-like-kids-that-are-pushed-into-things-by-stage-mums-but-when/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [I don't discriminate. I hate Mondays just as much as I hate any day that requires me to wake up before 10 am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-discriminate-i-hate-mondays-just-as-much-as-i-hate-any-day/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A guided missile corrects its trajectory as it flies, homing in, say, on the heat of a jet plane's exhaust. A great improvement on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-guided-missile-corrects-its-trajectory-as-it-flies-homing-in-say-on/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I used to be homophobic, but as I got older, I realized that wasn't the way to do things. I don't discriminate against anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asap-rocky/i-used-to-be-homophobic-but-as-i-got-older-i-realized-that-wasn-t-the/) [ASAP Rocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asap-rocky/) > [Discriminate, discriminate, and again discriminate! Be fastidious. Choose. Select.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-merrill-root/discriminate-discriminate-and-again-discriminate-be-fastidious-choose/) [E. Merrill Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-merrill-root/) > [For some of my friends who raise personal objections to marriage equality, they still recognize the importance of being accepting. And many of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-fujita/for-some-of-my-friends-who-raise-personal-objections-to-marriage/) [Scott Fujita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-fujita/) > [Never try to discriminate a person like me. I'm a dragon, once I'm getting mad, don't dare yourself to see me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marivil-ricacho/never-try-to-discriminate-a-person-like-me-i-m-a-dragon-once-i-m/) [Marivil Ricacho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marivil-ricacho/) > [Race is not the stumbling block to progress it once was, in large part because the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/race-is-not-the-stumbling-block-to-progress-it-once-was-in-large-part/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [The ability to discriminate between that which is true and that which is false is one of the last attainments of the human mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/the-ability-to-discriminate-between-that-which-is-true-and-that-which/) [James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-rabin/i-don-t-see-any-reason-to-discriminate-against-homosexuals/) [Yitzhak Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-rabin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) ## More by Aaron Levie > [The benefit to building a startup is that customers don't have the same kind of friction when they adopt new technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-benefit-to-building-a-startup-is-that-customers-don-t-have-the/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [My acronym is WWSJD: What Would Steve Jobs Do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/my-acronym-is-wwsjd-what-would-steve-jobs-do/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-only-way-to-avoid-disruption-is-to-constantly-do-what-you-would/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [The chance of failure is almost always better than the guarantee of never knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/the-chance-of-failure-is-almost-always-better-than-the-guarantee-of/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [You can look at the cost structure of an incumbent company and discover: where are they not going to be able to drop their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/you-can-look-at-the-cost-structure-of-an-incumbent-company-and/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [My dad is a chemical engineer, and my mom was a teacher. They were pretty serious about education, but I always thought about things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/my-dad-is-a-chemical-engineer-and-my-mom-was-a-teacher-they-were/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Modularize, don't customize. Build a platform as opposed to building all of the custom technology and custom vertical experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/modularize-don-t-customize-build-a-platform-as-opposed-to-building/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [I'm certainly not into money and prestige. For me there is simply nothing more exciting than people involved in the creation of great products.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/i-m-certainly-not-into-money-and-prestige-for-me-there-is-simply/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [A lot of being productive personally is determined by how you organize your entire business. You can't separate those two things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/a-lot-of-being-productive-personally-is-determined-by-how-you/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [I have a lot of faults. I often interrupt in meetings. I talk too loud. I talk too fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/i-have-a-lot-of-faults-i-often-interrupt-in-meetings-i-talk-too-loud/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Too little process and you can't get good work done. Too much process and you can't get any work done. Most companies never find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/too-little-process-and-you-can-t-get-good-work-done-too-much-process/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [All we're really doing is repeating technologies that were tried 10, 20, 30 years ago... it's just that it was too expensive, too unusable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/all-we-re-really-doing-is-repeating-technologies-that-were-tried-10/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Innovation is hard because solving problems people didn't know they had & building something no one needs look identical at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/innovation-is-hard-because-solving-problems-people-didn-t-know-they/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [They can bring the technology in, then you can sell to the enterprise when they want to have better control, better security... you still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/they-can-bring-the-technology-in-then-you-can-sell-to-the-enterprise/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) > [Sometimes things are the way they are and can't be changed, other times it's because no one ever tried. Your job is to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-levie/sometimes-things-are-the-way-they-are-and-can-t-be-changed-other/) [Aaron Levie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) [Explore all 87 Aaron Levie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-levie/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I tend to not discriminate when it comes to people I can learn from. 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