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You're Being Mean To Someone Who's Helping You. What Is That? Everyone Knows Who The Assholes Are, And I Avoid Them.
-Steven Soderbergh
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You're Being Mean To

Steven Soderbergh
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You're Being Mean To Someone Who's Helping You. What Is That? Everyone Knows Who The Assholes Are, And I Avoid Them.

Understanding the Quote: "you're being mean to someone who's helping you. what is that? everyone..."

This quote by Steven Soderbergh reflects deeply on the theme of mean. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Mean, Helping, Being Me, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Steven Soderbergh interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh is celebrated for insightful thoughts on mean and helping. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Mean
Helping
Being Me
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Lying
Recovery
I've Tried To Get Better About Weighing What I Think The Accessibility Of An Idea Is Against The Cost Of Executing It. I've Tried To Be Smarter About That, Because If You're Not Smart About That, You're Going To Be Unemployed. But I'm Still Mystified About What Works For People. And I'm Not Talking About My Movies, I'm Talking In General. I'm Mystified By The Stuff That Doesn't Work. I'm Mystified By What's Going On In The Critical Side, Too.
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Thinking
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I Guess I Just Look At Talent As A Very Subjective Thing. I Mean, If You Never Tried Playing An Oboe, How Do You Know You're Not The Most Talented Oboe Player Ever? The Point Is That If You Don't Love It, Then It Doesn't Matter.
Mean
Player
Oboes
The Brief Flashbacks Are Sun-kissed, Summery And Optimistic. It's The Only Place In The Movie You Will See Red, Yellow, Orange, Or Any Vibrant Colors.
Optimistic
Color
Yellow
I Have No Shame In Making Music That Maybe, If You Listen To It Long Enough, You'll Realize You've Heard This Or That Part Of It Before. I'm Still Very Excited By An Amazingly Written Song, So That's Really The Thing That I Work On When I Make Records With People.
Song
Long
People
The Great Thing About The Business Is How Darwinian It Is. We Have To Swim Or Die - If You Are Found Wanting Over A Period Of Time, You've Either Got To Change What You're Doing Or Find Something Else To Do.
Swim
Found
Periods
There Are Three Major Social Issues That This Country Is Struggling With: Education, Poverty, And Drugs. Two Of Them We Talk About, And One Of Them We Don't.
Education
Country
Struggle
I Just Find It Annoying That In These Sequences [of The Fight Scenes], Traditionally, There's Music Trying To Pump You Up. I Don't Like That, Personally, As An Audience Member. This Just Reflects My Taste.
Fighting
Trying
Pumps
The Art Model Of Problem Solving Is Incredibly Efficient Because Ideology Has No Place There.there's Only The Thing And What The Thing Needs To Be.
Art
Needs
Problem
I Think That Music Is A Very Difficult Art Form In Which To Be Avant-garde. When We Sit Down To Listen To A Piece Of Music, I Think Our Implicit Hope Is That We're Going To Find It Beautiful, Or At Least Emotional, On Some Level.
Beautiful
Art
Emotional
I Think About Art A Lot Only In Two Contexts. One Is Narrative... The Other Thing That I'm Interested In, Which Is Tangential, But Not Unrelated... All Art To Me Is About Problem Solving.
Art
Thinking
Two
I Know Why We Can't Have A Frank Discussion With Our Policymakers - If You're In The Government Or In Law Enforcement You Cannot Acknowledge That Drugs Are Anything But Inherently Evil And Morally Wrong.
Government
Law
Evil
We [people] Are A Species That's Wired To Tell Stories. We Need Stories. It's How We Make Sense Of Things. It's How We Learn.
People
Needs
Stories
My Experience Over The Years With Working With People Who Are Not Actors Or Not Trained Actors Is That You Have To Get To Know Them Well Enough To See What They Have That's Translatable Onto The Screen. So You're Constantly Calibrating To Play To Their Strengths. And The Key Is To Never Ask Them To Do Things That Are Beyond Their Abilities Or Are Really Far Away From Who They Are At Their Core.
Keys
Years
Play
A Movie Is Something You See, Cinema Is Something That’s Made.
Cinema
Made
I Had More Fun Making Traffic Than Either Of The Ocean's Films.
Fun
Ocean
Film
I Make Every Movie Like It's The Last One. "if This Was The Last Movie, What Decision Would I Make?" That's How I Make My Decisions.
Decision
Lasts
Ifs
There Are People Who Are Originals And The Stuff They Make Really Is New. It Isn't Based On Anything Else. But I've Decided I'm Not That-i Was Never That. My Abilities Are To Synthesize A Wide Range Of References And Ideas Into Something That Feels Relatively Unified And Coherent.
Ideas
People
Stuff
There Is Sadness Of When You're Watching Someone Enjoy Something That You Think Is Substandard. The Ineffable Sadness When Someone Is Happy And Something Is Not As Good As It Should Be.
Sadness
Thinking
Ineffable
Traffic Is About Drugs. As Detailed A Portrait As I Can Muster About What Is Happening In The Drug World, From Top To Bottom, From Policy To How Things Move On The Street.
Moving
Drug
Portraits
The Key Is, How Do You Feel With The One Asshole? They Cannot Be Talked To. That's Why They Are Assholes.
Keys
Feels
A Real Litmus Test For Me Is How People Treat Someone Who Is Waiting On Them. That's A Dealbreaker For Me.if I Were On The Verge Of Getting Into A Serious Relationship And I Saw That Person Be Mean To A Waiter... I'm Out.
Real
Mean
People
In The Land Of Ideas, You Are Always Renting.
Land
Ideas
I'm Obviously Really Opinionated, But As A Producer, You Don't Necessarily Want The Person You're Working With To Try To Impress You - You Want Them To Just Be Themselves.
Trying
Want
Producers
There's Definitely A Way Of Thinking And A Way Of Being In The South That Has Its Advantages And Disadvantages.
Thinking
Way
Advantage
A Lot Of People Go To The Movies Wanting The Movie To Be About Feelings, And It's Really Not About That. Or Rather It's About Feelings In The Abstract.
People
Feelings
Abstract
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