--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm brash and abrasive but that's because…" description: "\"I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite they never get anywhere.\" — Mahathir Mohamad" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png" --- # I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed… ![“I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite they never get anywhere.” quote by Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png) > “I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite they never get anywhere.” [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that politeness can be a hindrance to success, implying that assertiveness and aggression are necessary to achieve results. **In simple terms:** Being harsh is seen as a way to get ahead. Key Takeaway Embrace assertiveness, not just politeness. Themes leadership assertiveness success politics Mood determined critical Type political motivational When to use this quote - business negotiations - political campaigns - career advancement - social activism Key Concepts realism power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is aggression always more effective than courtesy? - When does assertiveness become counterproductive? A Different Perspective Aggressive tactics may alienate allies and damage long‑term relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brash/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite/) ## Related quotes > [Canadians are nice and polite. It's not just a stereotype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-trudeau/canadians-are-nice-and-polite-it-s-not-just-a-stereotype/) [Justin Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-trudeau/) > [I hope somewhere along the way, I've inspired someone to do something. ... And I hope they say that I was nice and polite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-werbowy/i-hope-somewhere-along-the-way-i-ve-inspired-someone-to-do-something/) [Daria Werbowy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-werbowy/) > [If you've ever seen me meet somebody, I'm so nice, I'm polite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-strickland/if-you-ve-ever-seen-me-meet-somebody-i-m-so-nice-i-m-polite/) [Sean Strickland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-strickland/) > [My fans are pretty normal, they are always really nice and polite, and they don't interrupt my meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/my-fans-are-pretty-normal-they-are-always-really-nice-and-polite-and/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [I am blunt sometimes; I am diplomatic sometimes; I am all things in between. Abrasive, you know, I guess it's in the eye of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/i-am-blunt-sometimes-i-am-diplomatic-sometimes-i-am-all-things-in/) [Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/) > [Be sure to expose yourself to criticism: A fine polish requires an abrasive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-vos-savant/be-sure-to-expose-yourself-to-criticism-a-fine-polish-requires-an/) [Marilyn vos Savant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-vos-savant/) > [I don't really make particularly abrasive music, but at the same time I wouldn't change something to make people like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-don-t-really-make-particularly-abrasive-music-but-at-the-same-time/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [“Life is far more abrasive experiencing its individual components than the sum itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hildreth/life-is-far-more-abrasive-experiencing-its-individual-components-than/) [Scott Hildreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hildreth/) > [I'm abrasive. I am so sure that I'm right about virtually everything. I can sing you an aria of reasons to not like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-priest/i-m-abrasive-i-am-so-sure-that-i-m-right-about-virtually-everything-i/) [Christopher Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-priest/) > [It's crazy that, as women, we are taught to be cute and nice and polite when we should learn to be less nice sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pom-klementieff/it-s-crazy-that-as-women-we-are-taught-to-be-cute-and-nice-and-polite/) [Pom Klementieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pom-klementieff/) > [D.C. fans, I think, are so good. They just come up to me, and they're so nice and so polite and just, 'Hey, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-harper/d-c-fans-i-think-are-so-good-they-just-come-up-to-me-and-they-re-so/) [Bryce Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-harper/) > [All fame is is having people you don't know coming up to you and saying, 'Hello.' I'm always polite and people are always nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/all-fame-is-is-having-people-you-don-t-know-coming-up-to-you-and/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [I assume that people react to things as I would react. For example, if you are nice to people, they should be nice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-assume-that-people-react-to-things-as-i-would-react-for-example-if/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/my-image-is-a-statement-of-the-symbols-of-the-harsh-impersonal/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More by Mahathir Mohamad > [I cannot keep quiet even when I am a lone voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-cannot-keep-quiet-even-when-i-am-a-lone-voice/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [The Internet is undermining moral values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/the-internet-is-undermining-moral-values/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [In Malaysia, trials have always been fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/in-malaysia-trials-have-always-been-fair/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [There are certain things that we can deal with by following the rules. But at times, we find the rules restrict you from doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/there-are-certain-things-that-we-can-deal-with-by-following-the-rules/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [A heretic can be tolerated. But a heresy cannot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/a-heretic-can-be-tolerated-but-a-heresy-cannot/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [The Malays are spiritually inclined, tolerant, and easy-going. The non-Malays, and especially the Chinese, are materialistic, aggressive, and have an appetite for work. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/the-malays-are-spiritually-inclined-tolerant-and-easy-going-the-non/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Any organisation has a future, provided it is properly led and it sticks to the objective of that organisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/any-organisation-has-a-future-provided-it-is-properly-led-and-it/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [In the eyes of the world, Malaysia has become a pariah state, a state where anyone can be hauled up and questioned by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/in-the-eyes-of-the-world-malaysia-has-become-a-pariah-state-a-state/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [I not only think but also look and study things carefully. When I travel around, I look at things carefully, make comparisons of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-not-only-think-but-also-look-and-study-things-carefully-when-i/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Suppose a part of Britain or a part of America was taken away and given to the Jews as Israel. Do you think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/suppose-a-part-of-britain-or-a-part-of-america-was-taken-away-and/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [When you have a prime minister who is corrupt, then you can be sure that a country cannot be anything else but corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/when-you-have-a-prime-minister-who-is-corrupt-then-you-can-be-sure/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [I am the first authoritarian government elected to become a dictator and then resigning as a dictator. So this is the first dictator in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-am-the-first-authoritarian-government-elected-to-become-a-dictator/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [It would seem the people who want to preserve the Penans' way of life are condemning them to a life full of diseases and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/it-would-seem-the-people-who-want-to-preserve-the-penans-way-of-life/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Once started, religious strife has a tendency to go on and on - to become permanent feuds. Today we see such intractable inter-religious wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/once-started-religious-strife-has-a-tendency-to-go-on-and-on-to/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) > [Membership of an organisation is good, as long as you can make yourself heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/membership-of-an-organisation-is-good-as-long-as-you-can-make/) [Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) [Explore all 126 Mahathir Mohamad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/) ## More Brash quotes > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My image is a statement of the symbols of the harsh, impersonal products and brash materialistic objects on which America is built today. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/my-image-is-a-statement-of-the-symbols-of-the-harsh-impersonal/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I liked working in advertising, but don't believe my taste in art, such as it is, was entirely formed by TV commercials. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-saatchi/i-liked-working-in-advertising-but-don-t-believe-my-taste-in-art-such/) [Charles Saatchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-saatchi/) > [Death is not earnest in the same way the eternal is. To the earnestness of death belongs precisely that remarkable capacity for awakening, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/death-is-not-earnest-in-the-same-way-the-eternal-is-to-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Because Melissa McCarthy actually is a fat woman, she isnt allowed to make brash statements about body acceptance. She has to apologize for her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-armintrout/because-melissa-mccarthy-actually-is-a-fat-woman-she-isnt-allowed-to/) [Jennifer Armintrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-armintrout/) > [“Bold and brash, she was different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-everhart/bold-and-brash-she-was-different/) Donna Everhart > [The brash unbridled tongue, the lawless folly of fools, will end in pain. But the life of wise content is blest with quietness, escapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/the-brash-unbridled-tongue-the-lawless-folly-of-fools-will-end-in/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Humor is hope's companion in arms. It is not brash, it is not cheap, it is not heartless. Among other things I think humor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/humor-is-hope-s-companion-in-arms-it-is-not-brash-it-is-not-cheap-it/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [When you travel you realize how small you are. You need to be humble. You can't be a big, brash American. You think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-you-travel-you-realize-how-small-you-are-you-need-to-be-humble/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Regan has been amused, in the intervening years, to watch editors who rolled their eyes at Limbaugh scramble to try to duplicate his success.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-regan/regan-has-been-amused-in-the-intervening-years-to-watch-editors-who/) Judith Regan > [Murphy's Law, that brash proletarian restatement of Godel's Theorem ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/murphy-s-law-that-brash-proletarian-restatement-of-godel-s-theorem/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Bullshit is as common as lame poetry and more unavoidable than those armed men who are there to protect you from Bullshit like this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sparrow-13-laughingwand/bullshit-is-as-common-as-lame-poetry-and-more-unavoidable-than-those/) Sparrow 13 Laughingwand > [As a general rule, when something gets elevated to apple-pie status in the hierarchy of American values, you have to suspect that its actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/as-a-general-rule-when-something-gets-elevated-to-apple-pie-status-in/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [What is the big deal about Eminem? Since when is offensive language a reason for being unpopular? I like the fact that Eminem is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/what-is-the-big-deal-about-eminem-since-when-is-offensive-language-a/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [I can't stand the word 'celebrity.' It's such a brash word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/i-can-t-stand-the-word-celebrity-it-s-such-a-brash-word/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) [Browse all 33 Brash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brash/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite they never get anywhere.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahathir Mohamad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-because-i-ve-noticed-when-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brash" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-because-i-ve-noticed-when-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b81/mahathir-mohamad-3562_brash_i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-becaus_1965179.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm brash and abrasive but that's because I've noticed when people are nice and polite they never get…” — Mahathir Mohamad", "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": "Mahathir Mohamad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm brash and abrasive but that's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-because-i-ve-noticed-when-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-m-brash-and-abrasive-but-that-s-because-i-ve-noticed-when-people/#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 } } ] } ```