QuoteProject
They say a midget standing on a giant's shoulders can see much further than the giant. So I got the whole rap world on my shoulders, they trying to see further than I am.
Jay-Z
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Collaboration and support can elevate one's perspective and achievements beyond what they could do alone.

This quote by Jay-Z suggests that individuals often benefit from the experiences and achievements of those who came before them. By standing 'on the shoulders of giants,' they can gain insights and perspectives that propel them further in their endeavors. In the context of the rap world, it highlights the importance of lineage, mentorship, and the collective effort of artists who build upon each other's work to reach new heights.

Themes

SuccessCollaborationPerspectiveAchievementMentorship

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about teamwork and support in achieving goals.

More from Jay-Z

Artists can have greater access to reality; they can see patterns and details and connections that other people, distracted by the blur of life, might miss. Just sharing that truth can be a very powerful thing.
Jay-ZRead
The most amazing feeling I feel_x000D_ _x000D_ Words can't describe what I'm feeling for real _x000D_ _x000D_ Maybe I paint the sky blue _x000D_ _x000D_ My greatest creation was you.
Jay-ZRead
Far from a Harvard student, just had the balls to do it
Jay-ZRead
I never ask for nothin' I don't demand of myself. Honesty, loyalty, friends and then wealth
Jay-ZRead
It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around and all of these games that we'd play, and suddenly it would turn just violent and there would be shootings at 12 in the afternoon on any given day.
Jay-ZRead
I would run into the corner store, the bodega, and just grab a paper bag or buy juice - anything just to get a paper bag. And I'd write the words on the paper bag and stuff these ideas in my pocket until I got back. Then I would transfer them into the notebook.
Jay-ZRead

Similar quotes

That's what building a body of work is all about. It's about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime to a lasting legacy. It's about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest gold star, because the one thing I know about a body of work is that it's never finished. It's cumulative. It deepens and expands with each day you give your best. You may have setbacks and you may have failures, but you're not done.
Barack ObamaRead
I know it's not enjoying my success to do this, but when I see too many Polo shirts, I say to myself, 'That's the end of that.'
Ralph LaurenRead
(On being the world's richest man) I wish I wasn't ... There's nothing good that comes out of that. You get more visibility as a result of it.
Bill GatesRead
Work is the miracle by which talent is brought to the surface and dreams become reality.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
Our emphasis is on execution, not winning.
Pat SummittRead
It's perhaps easier now than ever before to make a good living; it's perhaps harder than ever before to stay calm, to be free of career anxiety.
Alain De BottonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.