--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're always thinking about someone…" description: "\"If you're always thinking about someone else's work, about the tradition you're working in, how can you possibly make anything good?\" — Philipp Meyer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/philipp-meyer-4254_about_if-you-re-always-thinking-about-someone_2717520.png" --- # If you're always thinking about someone else's work, about… ![“If you're always thinking about someone else's work, about the tradition you're working in, how can you possibly make anything good?” quote by Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/philipp-meyer-4254_about_if-you-re-always-thinking-about-someone_2717520.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/philipp-meyer-4254_about_if-you-re-always-thinking-about-someone_2717520.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c8/philipp-meyer-4254_about_if-you-re-always-thinking-about-someone_2717520.png) > “If you're always thinking about someone else's work, about the tradition you're working in, how can you possibly make anything good?” [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constantly comparing to others' work stifles originality and confidence, hindering creation of truly good work. **In simple terms:** Comparing to others blocks originality. Key Takeaway Focus on your own voice. Themes creativity confidence originality Mood reflective determined Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing - artistic projects - research - career development Key Concepts self‑efficacy comparative mindset Questions to Reflect On - What unique perspective can you bring? - How can you balance learning from tradition and innovating? A Different Perspective If you never compare, you may miss valuable lessons from others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) [Else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/else/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/how/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-good/) [Possibly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibly/) [Someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/someone/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-work-761025/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-working-2049487/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-tradition-2856200/) [Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [Perl has a long tradition of working around compilers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wall/perl-has-a-long-tradition-of-working-around-compilers/) [Larry Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wall/) > [Anything that I do, I try to make it as good as I possibly can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-neuwirth/anything-that-i-do-i-try-to-make-it-as-good-as-i-possibly-can/) [Bebe Neuwirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-neuwirth/) > [A job is a vocation only if someone else calls you to do it for them rather than for yourself. And so our work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/a-job-is-a-vocation-only-if-someone-else-calls-you-to-do-it-for-them/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Inevitably we start by thinking that if our work is any good, we'll get money. It's as we would if you started up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/inevitably-we-start-by-thinking-that-if-our-work-is-any-good-we-ll/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I do a lot of thinking about my work while I'm walking. More in the early morning when I'm trekking in the mountains. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ray/i-do-a-lot-of-thinking-about-my-work-while-i-m-walking-more-in-the/) [Charles Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ray/) > [I'm such a workaholic. I'm always thinking about work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-m-such-a-workaholic-i-m-always-thinking-about-work/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [The best preparation for work is not thinking about work, talking about work, or studying for work: it is work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/the-best-preparation-for-work-is-not-thinking-about-work-talking/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [I was thinking that work is like fertilizer in that I'm glad it exists; I just don't ever want to get stuck in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/i-was-thinking-that-work-is-like-fertilizer-in-that-i-m-glad-it/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [I think that all I can do is try and keep myself stress-free and away from any type of result-orientated thinking, and go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-sipos/i-think-that-all-i-can-do-is-try-and-keep-myself-stress-free-and-away/) [Shaun Sipos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-sipos/) > [Information work is thinking work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/information-work-is-thinking-work/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Thinking about work as a day job has made a big difference in the way I approach what I do. It also helped me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/thinking-about-work-as-a-day-job-has-made-a-big-difference-in-the-way/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [“That’s what reframing your role is all about: thinking about how your work affects others, looking at the larger purpose of your work and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sturt/that-s-what-reframing-your-role-is-all-about-thinking-about-how-your/) [David Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sturt/) > [It didnt take long to establish myself, as far as people thinking my work was good. They liked it from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/it-didnt-take-long-to-establish-myself-as-far-as-people-thinking-my/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [I'm always thinking about my work, always thinking about where it's taking me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mercurio/i-m-always-thinking-about-my-work-always-thinking-about-where-it-s/) [Jed Mercurio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mercurio/) > [I feel it's tough to make friend when you're always thinking about work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harshvardhan-rane/i-feel-it-s-tough-to-make-friend-when-you-re-always-thinking-about/) [Harshvardhan Rane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harshvardhan-rane/) ## More by Philipp Meyer > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“but I rarely did anything I didn't feel like doing, and maybe this was the main difference between the whites and the Comanches, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/but-i-rarely-did-anything-i-didn-t-feel-like-doing-and-maybe-this-was/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“resacas have all gone dry. 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With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/i-just-assume-that-i-ll-fail-at-something-for-several-years-that-i-ll/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“They all want to be rich, same as we do, but they do not admit to themselves that you only get rich by taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/they-all-want-to-be-rich-same-as-we-do-but-they-do-not-admit-to/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“The strong took from the weak, only the weak believed otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/the-strong-took-from-the-weak-only-the-weak-believed-otherwise/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“Of course you wanted your children to have it better than you had. But at what point was it not better at all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/of-course-you-wanted-your-children-to-have-it-better-than-you-had-but/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“I might be killed any day, by whites or hostile Indians, I might be run down by a grizzly or a pack of buffalo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/i-might-be-killed-any-day-by-whites-or-hostile-indians-i-might-be-run/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“You could not measure yourself against the dead, they retained their perfection while your flesh got weaker and weaker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/you-could-not-measure-yourself-against-the-dead-they-retained-their/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“I have always found it interesting that white children take so quickly to Indian ways, while Indian children, when brought to be raised in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/i-have-always-found-it-interesting-that-white-children-take-so/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [Life throws up enough road blocks to keep you from writing; you can't be adding to them yourself by saying you can only write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/life-throws-up-enough-road-blocks-to-keep-you-from-writing-you-can-t/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [“There had been a time when this was not unusual. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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