The Age of Repetition
We live in a time when everyone has access to the same information, the same books, the same podcasts, the same highlight clips of great thinkers. The problem is not the lack of wisdom, it’s the excess of repetition. Too many people are recycling what inspired them instead of translating it into something that is truly theirs.
It’s valuable to quote others. It’s useful to read books, watch interviews, study biographies, and ask questions. Curious minds do this, it’s how we grow. But curiosity without reflection becomes mimicry. You start to sound informed but not original. You can reference the same ten thinkers as everyone else, yet still have nothing new to say.
Finding Your Own Stand
The world rewards those who make sense of noise, not those who add to it. And that begins with one question: What do you believe in? What do you believe is the right way to build companies, to market, to design products and services? If you act from that belief, truly, without imitation, it might one day become the new reference point, the company others quote.
The danger of constantly consuming other people’s opinions before forming your own is that you risk never truly knowing your stand. You start mistaking familiarity for understanding. You become fluent in other people’s frameworks but illiterate on your own. Eventually, your voice becomes an echo, slightly delayed, slightly distorted.
Taking sides is easy. Having a stand is rare. We see this everywhere: founders repeating Silicon Valley mantras without questioning their context, employees echoing leaders to sound aligned, creators building entire identities out of borrowed conviction. The internet has made mimicry efficient and originality exhausting. But there’s no substitute for a stand that’s been tested, not inherited.
You’re Here to Build, Not Cheerlead
You’re not here to be a cheerleader. You’re here to make a statement, as a person, as a thinker, as a builder. Making a statement doesn’t always mean speaking louder. It means thinking deeper. It means slowing down when everyone’s rushing to post, and asking: What do I actually believe? It’s the difference between reacting and reasoning, between amplifying someone else’s thought and articulating your own.
Lessons from Conversations
When we interview people on Meri Podcast, the most interesting guests aren’t the ones who quote the most thinkers, they’re the ones who’ve wrestled with their own contradictions. They’ve tested their beliefs through failure, through risk, through time. Their statements come from lived experience, not borrowed language.
That’s what I try to practice myself. Before diving into a new idea or book, I write down what I already believe, what I think, what I prefer, and why. Only then do I go out to read or listen to others, not to copy them but to refine my own thinking. I approach ideas with a clear baseline. Sometimes I discover I was wrong, and that’s fine. Changing your mind when faced with better evidence isn’t weakness, it’s refinement, evolution with awareness.
The Goal Isn’t to Be Unshakable
The goal isn’t to be unshakable. It’s to be unconfused. When you make a statement, you draw a line. You tell the world: This is where I stand today, based on what I know, what I’ve lived, and what I’m building toward. You invite challenge, you invite dialogue, but you don’t outsource your thinking.
That’s how great founders, artists, and leaders shape the world. They absorb widely, but they decide independently. They learn, not to conform, but to sharpen their distinction. So yes, read the books. Watch the interviews. Listen to the podcasts. But write your own notes before you press play. Let the world’s wisdom refine your thinking, not replace it.
Because the real task isn’t to sound smart. It’s to say something that matters. That’s how you make a statement worth hearing.