When people have the opportunity to act as they please, they generally choose to imitate others.

when you’re competing with people, it’s because you’re copying them.

When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.

Faults are soon copied.

People invariably chose inimitable people to imitate.

It's easy to look smart when you're parroting smart people.

But, of course, of course, I imitated everyone! Except myself. — Pablo Picasso

Imitation is about copying. Emulation is when imitation goes one step further, breaking through into your own thing.

When someone copies you, they are copying a moment in time. They don’t know the thinking that went into getting you to that moment in time, and they won’t know the thinking that’ll help you have a million more moments in time. They’re stuck with what you left behind.

Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.

We have more faith in what we imitate than in what we originate. We cannot derive a sense of absolute certitude from anything which has its roots in us. The most poignant sense of insecurity comes from standing alone; we are not alone when we imitate.

You start out imitating your heroes, and the way you fuck up becomes your style.

I succeeded in bewitching a fair number and in being intoxicated with my mistakes.

A lot of pop music has come out of people failing to copy their model and accidentally creating something new. The closer you get to your ideal, the less original you sound.