There is no such thing as a ‘self-made’ man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.
– George Adams
I can think of dozens of traits, thought processes, beliefs, principles, habits that make up my being, and attribute it to a specific person I stole learned it from.
I used to hate being “unoriginal”. I felt like a sham for thinking like Ray or saying things that Will would say. Couldn’t I come up with an original thought all on my own?
I stopped feeling like a sham when I realized that learning from those around us is the only way we grow. What we choose to take and how we integrate our own experience is what makes us who we are.
I’m more or less a mix of the people I’ve run into in my life.
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By the way, I found this quote in Keith Ferrazzi’s book Never Eat Alone. It’s about the importance of relationships in business and career. And life, really. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but so far so good.
Hi, I'm Greg. I'm a cofounder of Killer Aces Media. We publish community blogs like 