--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our originality shows itself most…" description: "\"Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.\" — Eric Hoffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg" --- # Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what… ![“Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg) > “Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Originality is demonstrated by how we transform borrowed ideas, not by inventing everything anew. **In simple terms:** Innovation through recombination. Key Takeaway Value lies in creative adaptation. Themes creativity originality influence learning adaptation Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic research - product design - artistic composition - software development - teaching Key Concepts idea synthesis cultural transmission intellectual property Practical Applications - developing new concepts from existing ones - enhancing existing works Questions to Reflect On - How can you leverage existing knowledge to create something novel? - What distinguishes adaptation from plagiarism? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) ## Related quotes > [It is the fate of every great achievement to be pounced upon by pedants and imitators who drain it of life and turn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-the-fate-of-every-great-achievement-to-be-pounced-upon-by/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [To overestimate the originality of one's thoughts is perhaps a less serious defect than being unaware of their newness. There is a more pronounced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/to-overestimate-the-originality-of-one-s-thoughts-is-perhaps-a-less/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“Instead of trying to be original, try being you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aegelis/instead-of-trying-to-be-original-try-being-you/) [Aegelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aegelis/) > [By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-facticity-the-repetition-and/) [Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-e-krauss/) > [“I want to debunk the myth that originality requires extreme risk taking and persuade you that originals are actually far more ordinary than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/i-want-to-debunk-the-myth-that-originality-requires-extreme-risk/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [Nothing is original.. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/nothing-is-original-steal-from-anywhere-that-resonates-with/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [We loved the Beach Boys, bands like that, but our originality came out of our lack of ability as copiers. They did mostly complicated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-mael/we-loved-the-beach-boys-bands-like-that-but-our-originality-came-out/) [Russell Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-mael/) > [“Disappointment leads to clarity, which leads to conviction and true originality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/disappointment-leads-to-clarity-which-leads-to-conviction-and-true/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Wherein lies a poet's claim to originality? That he invents his incidents? No. That he was present when his episodes had their birth? No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/wherein-lies-a-poet-s-claim-to-originality-that-he-invents-his/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [I pretend no originality in observing that mass education was motivated in part by the perceived need to "educate them to keep them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-pretend-no-originality-in-observing-that-mass-education-was/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Original minds are not distinguished by being the first to see a new thing, but instead by seeing the old, familiar thing that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/original-minds-are-not-distinguished-by-being-the-first-to-see-a-new/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Create with the heart; build with the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/create-with-the-heart-build-with-the-mind/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Writing that flirts with incoherence can just as readily flounder as writing characterized by simplicity and composure. There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-creative-mind-is-the-playful-mind-philosophy-is-the-play-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-best-part-of-the-art-of-living-is-to-know-how-to-grow-old/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is our talents rusting unused within us that secrete the poison of self-doubt into our bloodstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-our-talents-rusting-unused-within-us-that-secrete-the-poison-of/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Borrow quotes > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [Do not borrow the productions of other men's brains and pens and recite them as a lesson; but make the most of the talents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/do-not-borrow-the-productions-of-other-men-s-brains-and-pens-and/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Dreams are the kind of things you can—when you need to—borrow and lend out,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/dreams-are-the-kind-of-things-you-can-when-you-need-to-borrow-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Experience is the only good 'tis safer to borrow than to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-panin/experience-is-the-only-good-tis-safer-to-borrow-than-to-buy/) [Ivan Panin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-panin/) > [Scientists have odious manners, except when you prop up their theory; then you can borrow money of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/scientists-have-odious-manners-except-when-you-prop-up-their-theory/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [U turned ur bck oN tomorw,c0z u 4gt Yestrday.i gave u my love in borrow.. bt u jst throw it away..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xresh-atish/u-turned-ur-bck-on-tomorw-c0z-u-4gt-yestrday-i-gave-u-my-love-in/) [Xresh Atish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xresh-atish/) > [“You can always borrow ideas; but unless you improve them very significantly, never behave as if they are your own!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-can-always-borrow-ideas-but-unless-you-improve-them-very/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [How strange! When people borrow money, they bow to you and when you collect it, you have to bow to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-strange-when-people-borrow-money-they-bow-to-you-and-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you're in the cellar), be seen in smart restaurants (even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-successful-keep-looking-tanned-live-in-an-elegant-building-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/acquaintance-n-a-person-whom-we-know-well-enough-to-borrow-from-but/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Borrow my umbrellas, my clothes, my money, and I will likely not think of them again. But borrow my books and I will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/borrow-my-umbrellas-my-clothes-my-money-and-i-will-likely-not-think/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [The new American dream is one of responsibility. What is the bottom-line number that you're going to be able to pay back toward a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/the-new-american-dream-is-one-of-responsibility-what-is-the-bottom/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [“I make my own judgements of people, mate. I don't need to borrow yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-hajicek/i-make-my-own-judgements-of-people-mate-i-don-t-need-to-borrow-yours/) [Jesse Hajicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-hajicek/) Browse all 268 Borrow quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Hoffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Borrow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a1/eric-hoffer-343_borrow_our-originality-shows-itself-most-striki_17085.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that…” — Eric Hoffer", "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": "Eric Hoffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our originality shows itself most strikingly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/#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 } } ] } ```