Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.

The line urges authenticity over imitation: personal success and integrity come from developing one’s own talents and character rather than copying another person’s style, values, or achievements. The contrast between “first rate” and “second rate” frames originality as excellence and mimicry as a built-in limitation—no matter how skilled the imitation, it remains derivative. As a maxim, it speaks to pressures to conform (socially, professionally, artistically) and argues that self-knowledge and self-acceptance are prerequisites for a life that feels both effective and genuinely one’s own.