Jean de La Fontaine Quotes

O imitators, you slavish herd!

Imitators are a slavish herd and fools in my opinion.

People are in a hurry to magnify themselves by imitating what is popular- and too lazy to think of anything better.

I hate anything that seems like something that has been done.

How little inventiveness there is in man, Grave copier of copies.

Once you start copying other people's licks, you begin thinking they're yours. Doing that's just an easy way out.

The imitator dooms himself to hopeless mediocrity.

Posterity weaves no garlands for imitators.

Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of.

There were times in my career when I would try to write songs like Bob Dylan... Artists get hooked up in that. To be a follower, you lose.

I think most people don't like others who, without a voice of their own, emulate the other. I certainly don't want anybody just to pick up my thoughts and hand them back to me.

I've seen stand up comedy, and after a while you start to notice that a lot of people are doing things that are like a lot of other people. There can be a bit of a herd mentality, and that's obviously less interesting because there's less going on. I'm just being totally frank with you.

No one can be profoundly original who does not avoid eccentricity.

Tradition is the great misleader because it's too easy to follow what has already been done - even though you may think you're giving it a kick. I was really trying to invent, instead of merely expressing myself.

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.

Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.

We've all forgotten how to be original.

The great man who gives a true transcript of his mind fascinates and instructs. Most writers suppress individuality. They wish to please the public.

There's room for everybody on the planet to be creative and conscious if you are your own person. If you're trying to be like somebody else, then there is isn't.

Unless you are unique, your opinion goes out the window.

What worse illness can there be than acute conventionality. You should pray every night that you don't wake up with it.

The more you see somebody else's version of something, the harder it is to make it your own.

I don't want to be anyone's mimic.

It is much easier to imitate something else that you know is accepted and loved than it is to look inside and follow your own compass, because you have no idea if you'll be accepted, if you'll be right, if your ideas are good, if your way is a path to success.

The one lesson I've learned from technology and food is the only time you know you're doing the wrong thing is when you're doing what everyone else is doing.