--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most everything I've done I've copied…" description: "\"Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else.\" — Sam Walton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg" --- # Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else. ![“Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else.” quote by Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg) > “Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else.” [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits that much of his work is derivative, suggesting learning from others is a common practice. **In simple terms:** He copies others’ ideas. Key Takeaway Learn by emulating successful ideas. Themes innovation learning imitation business strategy Mood pragmatic honest Type business reflective When to use this quote - product development - marketing campaigns - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts knowledge transfer creative adaptation benchmarking Questions to Reflect On - When is imitation beneficial versus harmful? - How can you add value to borrowed ideas? A Different Perspective Copying can limit originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Copied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copied/) [Copied Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copied-somebody-1989438/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somebody/) [Ve Copied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-copied-1311242/) ## Related quotes > [It's been very important throughout my career that I've met all the guys I've copied, because at each stage they've said, 'Don't play like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/it-s-been-very-important-throughout-my-career-that-i-ve-met-all-the/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [I've copied a bit of what AB de Villiers does. The way I go back and across to open myself up and set myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-smith/i-ve-copied-a-bit-of-what-ab-de-villiers-does-the-way-i-go-back-and/) [Steve Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-smith/) > [With the schedule I created for myself, I saw a lot of times that others copied what I did. And if you copy somebody,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-nys/with-the-schedule-i-created-for-myself-i-saw-a-lot-of-times-that/) [Sven Nys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-nys/) > [The theme of counterfeits, of those that produce and sell them, has always been part of the culture of M.I.A. When I was contacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-theme-of-counterfeits-of-those-that-produce-and-sell-them-has/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [In my early days, I copied the great French chefs, like most chefs do. Copying is not bad. Copying and not recognizing that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/in-my-early-days-i-copied-the-great-french-chefs-like-most-chefs-do/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [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 Sam Walton > [It is unhealthy to marinate in your own press clippings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/it-is-unhealthy-to-marinate-in-your-own-press-clippings/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/loosen-up-and-everybody-around-you-will-loosen-up/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [All of us profit from being corrected - if we're corrected in a positive way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/all-of-us-profit-from-being-corrected-if-we-re-corrected-in-a/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-secret-of-successful-retailing-is-to-give-your-customers-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [If I had to single out one element in my life that has made a difference for me, it would be a passion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/if-i-had-to-single-out-one-element-in-my-life-that-has-made-a/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [We're all working together; that's the secret. And we'll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we'll give the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/we-re-all-working-together-that-s-the-secret-and-we-ll-lower-the-cost/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say. It's terribly important for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/the-key-to-success-is-to-get-out-into-the-store-and-listen-to-what/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I think my constant fiddling and meddling with the status quo may have been one of my biggest contributions to the later success of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-think-my-constant-fiddling-and-meddling-with-the-status-quo-may/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [High expectations is the key to everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/high-expectations-is-the-key-to-everything/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do, they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/exceed-your-customer-s-expectations-if-you-do-they-ll-come-back-over/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/nothing-else-can-quite-substitute-for-a-few-well-chosen-well-timed/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I was asked what I thought about the recession. I thought about it and decided not to take part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-was-asked-what-i-thought-about-the-recession-i-thought-about-it-and/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Capital isn't hard to find; intuition, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/capital-isn-t-hard-to-find-intuition-yes/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/commit-to-your-business-believe-in-it-more-than-anybody-else/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Our best ideas come from clerks and stockboys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/our-best-ideas-come-from-clerks-and-stockboys/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) [Explore all 112 Sam Walton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) ## More Copied quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [In my early days, I copied the great French chefs, like most chefs do. Copying is not bad. Copying and not recognizing that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/in-my-early-days-i-copied-the-great-french-chefs-like-most-chefs-do/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [The theme of counterfeits, of those that produce and sell them, has always been part of the culture of M.I.A. When I was contacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/the-theme-of-counterfeits-of-those-that-produce-and-sell-them-has/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [I live in my own place - have never copied anyone even half, and at any master who lacks the grace - to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-live-in-my-own-place-have-never-copied-anyone-even-half-and-at-any/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“She copied and pasted the results into an Excel spreadsheet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/she-copied-and-pasted-the-results-into-an-excel-spreadsheet/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [For a long time, my uniform consisted of a trench coat, wide flared jeans, and little bottines - I copied a pair that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/for-a-long-time-my-uniform-consisted-of-a-trench-coat-wide-flared/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) [Browse all 85 Copied quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copied/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Walton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-from-somebody-else/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Copied" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-from-somebody-else/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/sam-walton-4376_done_most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-fr_1960150.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most everything I've done I've copied from somebody else.” — Sam Walton", "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": "Sam Walton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most everything I've done I've copied...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-from-somebody-else/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/most-everything-i-ve-done-i-ve-copied-from-somebody-else/#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 } } ] } ```