At times, copying can be part of the learning process, for example, when we see an art student working in a museum on a copy of a famous painting, or when a drummer, alone with themselves, recreates… solo. John. Bonema from “Moby Dick,” Ice Zeppelin While you are learning, such simulations can be a useful tool on your journey to developing your own style.
Unfortunately, copying in business often stems from lower motives. Perhaps this is because the modern world makes it easy to copy and paste. You can steal someone else’s words, images, or software with little effort. This leads to the temptation to build your business on copying.
However, this is a formula for failure. The problem with all this copying is that it misses the understanding, including the understanding of the path that led to what you are copying. When you simply copy and paste, you overlook this. You are merely reproducing the surface layer instead of understanding the layers that lie beneath it.
In the vast amount of work done by the original creator, there will always be elements that are not visible at first or even second glance. They are covered by an opaque surface layer. The copyist, in fact, does not know why something looks the way it does, feels the way it feels, or reads the way it reads. A copy is an unnatural completeness. By reproducing a copy, you gain neither foundation nor understanding, nor anything that serves as support for your future.
Moreover, if you’re a copy-paster, you’ll never be ahead. You’re always in a passive position. You’ll never be a leader; you’ll always be a follower. You’re creating something that’s already outdated—a mere imitation, a poor version of the original. This is not the path to success.
How do you know when you’re copying someone? If someone else is doing most of the work, then you are copying. Allow yourself to be influenced, but don’t steal.