--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I am no longer being copied, I shall…" description: "\"When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a back number. ... the fear of being copied is often the characteristic of the meager imaginat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png" --- # When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a… ![“When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a back number. ... the fear of being copied is often the characteristic of the meager imagination.” quote by Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png) > “When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a back number. ... the fear of being copied is often the characteristic of the meager imagination.” [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Original ideas are recognized when they are not merely imitated; copying signals limited imagination. **In simple terms:** True originality shows when others stop copying you. Key Takeaway Seek genuine creativity, not imitation. Themes originality imagination creativity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic work - writing - design - entrepreneurship Key Concepts Intellectual property creative confidence Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate influence from imitation? - What fuels your unique voice? A Different Perspective Copying can be a stepping stone, not a final judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ## Related quotes > [Public speaking is the number-one fear... even over death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/public-speaking-is-the-number-one-fear-even-over-death/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Death is the number two fear that people have and public speaking is the first!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/death-is-the-number-two-fear-that-people-have-and-public-speaking-is/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [“My number one fear is heights. Well, not so much the heights but the falling from heights. Actually the falling isn’t that bad (I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zakour/my-number-one-fear-is-heights-well-not-so-much-the-heights-but-the/) [John Zakour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zakour/) > [According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/according-to-most-studies-people-s-number-one-fear-is-public-speaking/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [Everyone's number one need is acceptance and everyone's number one fear is rejection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pelumi-bello/everyone-s-number-one-need-is-acceptance-and-everyone-s-number-one/) [Pelumi Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pelumi-bello/) > [Victorian architecture in the United States was copied straight from England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gardiner/victorian-architecture-in-the-united-states-was-copied-straight-from/) [Stephen Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gardiner/) > [“It would not be easy, indeed, to catch their expression, but their colour and shape, and the eyelashes, so remarkably fine, might be copied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-would-not-be-easy-indeed-to-catch-their-expression-but-their/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Good poetry could not have been otherwise written than it is. The first time you hear it, it sounds rather as if copied out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-poetry-could-not-have-been-otherwise-written-than-it-is-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I can jump on to a kitchen worktop from standing, like Tigger. It was something my dad could do, and I copied it from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riley/i-can-jump-on-to-a-kitchen-worktop-from-standing-like-tigger-it-was/) [Tom Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riley/) > [Margaret Thatcher had more impact on the world than any woman ruler since Catherine the Great of Russia. Not only did she turn around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/margaret-thatcher-had-more-impact-on-the-world-than-any-woman-ruler/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [I have an amazing social-media wing man who manages my Facebook fan site. All my blogs get copied there. My e-mail in-box exploded, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/i-have-an-amazing-social-media-wing-man-who-manages-my-facebook-fan/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [The power of a text is different when it is read from when it is copied out. Only the copied text thus commands the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-power-of-a-text-is-different-when-it-is-read-from-when-it-is/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Couture has copied my things for years, in addition to countless other costume designers, claiming theirs were the original ideas. It's all part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/couture-has-copied-my-things-for-years-in-addition-to-countless-other/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [The awkward moment when wikipedia has copied your homework.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-awkward-moment-when-wikipedia-has-copied-your-homework/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you listen to Drake's first single... he copied my whole bar word for word and my cadence and my flow from my song.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soulja-boy/if-you-listen-to-drake-s-first-single-he-copied-my-whole-bar-word-for/) [Soulja Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soulja-boy/) ## More by Elsie de Wolfe > [You will express yourself in your house whether you want to or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/you-will-express-yourself-in-your-house-whether-you-want-to-or-not/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [I was not ugly. I might never be anything for men to lose their heads about, but I need never again be ugly. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/i-was-not-ugly-i-might-never-be-anything-for-men-to-lose-their-heads/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [don't make each room a different color in a small apartment or you'll make yourself nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/don-t-make-each-room-a-different-color-in-a-small-apartment-or-you-ll/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [My business is to preach to you the beauty of suitability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/my-business-is-to-preach-to-you-the-beauty-of-suitability/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [There never has been a house so bad that it couldn't be made over into something worthwhile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/there-never-has-been-a-house-so-bad-that-it-couldn-t-be-made-over/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [I was born with the courage to live. Only those are unwise who have never dared to be fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/i-was-born-with-the-courage-to-live-only-those-are-unwise-who-have/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [You can't take it with you. There are no pockets in a shroud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/you-can-t-take-it-with-you-there-are-no-pockets-in-a-shroud/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [ \[At first sight of the Acropolis:\] It's beige! My color! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/at-first-sight-of-the-acropolis-it-s-beige-my-color/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [I am going to make everything around me beautiful - that will be my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/i-am-going-to-make-everything-around-me-beautiful-that-will-be-my-life/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [What is the goal? A house that is like the life that goes with it, a house that gives us beauty as we understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/what-is-the-goal-a-house-that-is-like-the-life-that-goes-with-it-a/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [I am going in now for interior decoration. By that I mean supplying objets d'art and giving advice regarding the decoration of their houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/i-am-going-in-now-for-interior-decoration-by-that-i-mean-supplying/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [It is not chic to be too chic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/it-is-not-chic-to-be-too-chic/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [When one begins to think of oneself as growing old, one is already old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/when-one-begins-to-think-of-oneself-as-growing-old-one-is-already-old/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [Good dressing is largely a question of detail and accessories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/good-dressing-is-largely-a-question-of-detail-and-accessories/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [It is the personality of the mistress that the home expresses. Men are forever guests in our homes, no matter how much happiness they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/it-is-the-personality-of-the-mistress-that-the-home-expresses-men-are/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) [Explore all 37 Elsie de Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) ## More Characteristics quotes > [One of the key characteristics of the comic book medium is that it is not brought to life by just one voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/one-of-the-key-characteristics-of-the-comic-book-medium-is-that-it-is/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [“What makes a good leader? I ask myself this every day, and then as I begin to list off characteristics I realize I’m describing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/what-makes-a-good-leader-i-ask-myself-this-every-day-and-then-as-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Those who know New York City primarily through tourism or mass culture may think of us natives as possessing certain shared characteristics, not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/those-who-know-new-york-city-primarily-through-tourism-or-mass/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [Sometimes, Ms. Lane," he said, "one must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-ms-lane-he-said-one-must-break-with-one-s-past-to-embrace/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/a-second-characteristic-of-the-process-which-for-me-is-the-good-life/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Philanthropy is one of the most hopeful characteristics of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-livermore/philanthropy-is-one-of-the-most-hopeful-characteristics-of-our-time/) Mary Livermore > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) > [The most significant moment will be when we stop referring to the hiring of qualified women (and racial, ethnic and religious minorities) as significant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-trask/the-most-significant-moment-will-be-when-we-stop-referring-to-the/) Amy Trask > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quiet-desperation-what-is-called/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think it would be just to say the most essential characteristic of mind is memory, using this word in its broadest sense to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-think-it-would-be-just-to-say-the-most-essential-characteristic-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [ \[Joseph\] Stalin closes the exposition of these \[Leon Trotsky\] ideas with the words, "Such are in general the characteristic features of \[Vladimir\] Lenin's conception… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/joseph-stalin-closes-the-exposition-of-these-leon-trotsky-ideas-with/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [It is true that 'I seem to see a table' does not entail 'I see a table'; but 'I seem to feel a pain'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-strawson/it-is-true-that-i-seem-to-see-a-table-does-not-entail-i-see-a-table/) [Galen Strawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-strawson/) Browse all 1,325 Characteristics quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a back number. ... the fear of being copied is often the characteristic of the meager imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elsie de Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall-know-that-i-am-a-back-number/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Characteristics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall-know-that-i-am-a-back-number/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/elsie-de-wolfe-17463_characteristics_when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall_2521861.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I am no longer being copied, I shall know that I am a back number. ... the fear of being copied is…” — Elsie de Wolfe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elsie de Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I am no longer being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall-know-that-i-am-a-back-number/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/when-i-am-no-longer-being-copied-i-shall-know-that-i-am-a-back-number/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```