--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What people have to make sure of is that…" description: "\"What people have to make sure of is that they're not replicating something that already exists. You really have to ask yourself: \"Is there a point in m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/jarvis-cocker-4176_ask-yourself_what-people-have-to-make-sure-of-is-that_1843102.png" --- # What people have to make sure of is that they're not… ![“What people have to make sure of is that they're not replicating something that already exists. You really have to ask yourself: "Is there a point in me doing this? Has this already been said before? Is this moving things along or is this just adding to the giant pile of junk that's already there?"” quote by Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/jarvis-cocker-4176_ask-yourself_what-people-have-to-make-sure-of-is-that_1843102.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/jarvis-cocker-4176_ask-yourself_what-people-have-to-make-sure-of-is-that_1843102.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ead/jarvis-cocker-4176_ask-yourself_what-people-have-to-make-sure-of-is-that_1843102.png) > “What people have to make sure of is that they're not replicating something that already exists. You really have to ask yourself: "Is there a point in me doing this? Has this already been said before? Is this moving things along or is this just adding to the giant pile of junk that's already there?"” [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist urges creators to avoid duplicating existing work and to ensure their contributions add value. **In simple terms:** Don't repeat what's already done; aim for originality. Key Takeaway Create work that advances the field. Themes originality creativity quality Mood thoughtful critical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - product design - academic research - content creation Key Concepts artistic integrity innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure the value of a new idea? - When is imitation acceptable? A Different Perspective Sometimes incremental work is necessary even if not groundbreaking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [How do we know that anything really exists, that anything is really the way it seems ot us through our senses?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/how-do-we-know-that-anything-really-exists-that-anything-is-really/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Oh, of course, naturally, God is impossible. That is the first proof that he exists." Nothing exists as we see it. Nothing we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/oh-of-course-naturally-god-is-impossible-that-is-the-first-proof-that/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I don't think some perfect concept of closure ever really exists; it's not really a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-madix/i-don-t-think-some-perfect-concept-of-closure-ever-really-exists-it-s/) [Ariana Madix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-madix/) > [All life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/all-life-evolves-by-the-differential-survival-of-replicating-entities/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Stupidity is replicating itself at an enormous rate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stupidity-is-replicating-itself-at-an-enormous-rate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are going to have any chance of replicating life, you need to live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-friend/if-you-are-going-to-have-any-chance-of-replicating-life-you-need-to/) [Rupert Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-friend/) > [Natural selection based on the differential multiplication of variant types cannot exist before there is material capable of replicating itself and its own variations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-joseph-muller/natural-selection-based-on-the-differential-multiplication-of-variant/) [Hermann Joseph Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-joseph-muller/) > [“let’s instead define life very broadly, simply as a process that can retain its complexity and replicate. What’s replicated isn’t matter (made of atoms)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-tegmark/let-s-instead-define-life-very-broadly-simply-as-a-process-that-can/) [Max Tegmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-tegmark/) > [If you're not observing the world around you, in some sense you're not really an artist because then that means you're just replicating other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/if-you-re-not-observing-the-world-around-you-in-some-sense-you-re-not/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [There'd be no merit to replicating something, to repeating something. As artists and as musicians, you wanna continue to go in different directions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-draiman/there-d-be-no-merit-to-replicating-something-to-repeating-something/) [David Draiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-draiman/) > [I'm not interested in replicating 'Hedwig' like a virus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/i-m-not-interested-in-replicating-hedwig-like-a-virus/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [One of the most flattering things is when other people are seeing what you're doing and then replicating that kind of thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willam-belli/one-of-the-most-flattering-things-is-when-other-people-are-seeing/) [Willam Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willam-belli/) > [Art is a self-replicating force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/art-is-a-self-replicating-force/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [I think we all realized that we had really been replicating things that had already been happening. I don't know if we were smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baker/i-think-we-all-realized-that-we-had-really-been-replicating-things/) [David Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baker/) > [It doesn't cost anything to replicate code. So the companies that make code, that's why they've done so well. We take it for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-dyson/it-doesn-t-cost-anything-to-replicate-code-so-the-companies-that-make/) [George Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-dyson/) ## More by Jarvis Cocker > [The things in my songs are the edited highlights of my life. I don't go seeking out strange sexual experiences every day of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/the-things-in-my-songs-are-the-edited-highlights-of-my-life-i-don-t/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [I appreciate people who try and use language in an interesting way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-appreciate-people-who-try-and-use-language-in-an-interesting-way/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [You get to a certain age and you just want to prove that you can still rock - that you've still got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/you-get-to-a-certain-age-and-you-just-want-to-prove-that-you-can/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [I don't think people should abuse the fact that they are in showbiz. You still have to be human. I think that's the point.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-don-t-think-people-should-abuse-the-fact-that-they-are-in-showbiz/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [I'm always nervous when I perform anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-m-always-nervous-when-i-perform-anyway/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“I love your body 'cause I've lost my mind If you want someone to talk to, you're wasting your time If you want someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-love-your-body-cause-i-ve-lost-my-mind-if-you-want-someone-to-talk/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [It’s interesting that most gadgets are called ‘iPhone’ and ‘iPod,’ with that ‘i’ prefix, which is ego. But most creativity is not ego-led –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/it-s-interesting-that-most-gadgets-are-called-iphone-and-ipod-with/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [“And as I touch your shoulder tonight this room has become the centre of the entire universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/and-as-i-touch-your-shoulder-tonight-this-room-has-become-the-centre/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [Don't think that the things around you don't count, because they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/don-t-think-that-the-things-around-you-don-t-count-because-they-do/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [The good thing about people really is their iffy-ness and dodginess, isnt it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/the-good-thing-about-people-really-is-their-iffy-ness-and-dodginess/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [The thing with Disney songs is they're very manipulative, very sentimental, but they do get you, you know - there's a kind of sadness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/the-thing-with-disney-songs-is-they-re-very-manipulative-very/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [ \[Jeffrey Lewis is\] The best lyricist working in the US today. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/jeffrey-lewis-is-the-best-lyricist-working-in-the-us-today/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [I guess I'm fairly insistent and maybe consistent. If I decide I'll do something, I generally will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/i-guess-i-m-fairly-insistent-and-maybe-consistent-if-i-decide-i-ll-do/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [Pornography takes all the reality out of sex and Disney does that to family life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/pornography-takes-all-the-reality-out-of-sex-and-disney-does-that-to/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) > [My basic position is that the more mixed the society and the more mobility there is in it, the better. That's what makes things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarvis-cocker/my-basic-position-is-that-the-more-mixed-the-society-and-the-more/) [Jarvis Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) [Explore all 115 Jarvis Cocker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarvis-cocker/) ## More Ask yourself quotes > [“If you want to stop smoking, ask yourself, do you do it because you love nicotine, or because it provides a burst of stimulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/if-you-want-to-stop-smoking-ask-yourself-do-you-do-it-because-you/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“I've written about persistence and perseverance and yet for those of us with patchwork lives (projects, earnings, caretaking, home-tending, playing, friending, loving, celebrating, hurting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/i-ve-written-about-persistence-and-perseverance-and-yet-for-those-of/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [When you experience difficulty at work or in your life, instead of looking back on it as something that was really challenging, look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-ghosn/when-you-experience-difficulty-at-work-or-in-your-life-instead-of/) [Caroline Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-ghosn/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? 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How many things in life have you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drishti-bablani/when-a-bad-experience-shakes-your-faith-in-humanity-hold-those/) [Drishti Bablani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drishti-bablani/) > [“It is important you understand how fear affects you and how it drives human behavior so you can start to see situations and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-giles/it-is-important-you-understand-how-fear-affects-you-and-how-it-drives/) [Kimberly Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-giles/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Picture your life exactly the way you want it and then ask yourself, am I doing the things that will take me there? Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-cook/picture-your-life-exactly-the-way-you-want-it-and-then-ask-yourself/) [Stephanie Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-cook/) > [“Just make sure you've taken a moment or two to ask yourself if it's really a need, and to reflect on the potential benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-laricchia/just-make-sure-you-ve-taken-a-moment-or-two-to-ask-yourself-if-it-s/) [Pam Laricchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-laricchia/) > [“Em's the first woman I've met who seems to be...well, the answer.' 'Answer to what?' He shrugged. 'All the questions, I suppose.' Fay looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-gillard/em-s-the-first-woman-i-ve-met-who-seems-to-be-well-the-answer-answer/) [Linda Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-gillard/) > [“Listen to what you tell yourself about your life situation. 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