i think "they" are saying it from a economical driven point of view, to copy off others, because thats what most people do nowadays, they look at so many references and arn't really staying original, if "they" are so less imaginative, then so be it, but if one has the potential to visualize and put the imagination into reality, thats even better to stand out
originality can be dangerous, since you may or may not know the reaction from others, if you use something existing that already had positive response, then the layman might aswell be deceived...
what "they" are trying to make out of you, is a productive copy machine with illustrational skills i believe...
