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Eric Hoffer Quotes - Page 11

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In man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is usually embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as

In man's life, the absence of an essential component usually leads to the adoption of a substitute. The substitute is usually embraced with vehemence and extremism, for we have to convince ourselves that what we took as second choice is the best there ever was. Thus blind faith is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves; insatiable desire a substitute for hope; accumulation a substitute for growth; fervent hustling a substitute for purposeful action; and pride a substitute for an unattainable self-respect.

Pride, Men, Self

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

Conservatism is sometimes a symptom of sterility. Those who have nothing in them that can grow and develop must cling to what they have in beliefs, ideas and possessions. The sterile radical, too, is basically conservative. He is afraid to let go of the ideas and beliefs he picked up in his youth lest his life be seen as empty and wasted.

Letting Go, Ideas, Society

Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

Without a sense of proportion there can be neither good taste nor genuine intelligence, nor perhaps moral integrity.

Integrity, Balance, Taste

Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

A successful social technique consists perhaps in finding unobjectionable means for individual self-assertion.

Mean, Successful, Self

Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others.

Self, Denial, Harsh

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

Unlimited opportunities can be as potent a cause of frustration as a paucity or lack of opportunities.

Frustration, Opportunity, Causes

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden. Of what avail is freedom to choose if the self be ineffectual? We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, "to be free from freedom."

Responsibility, Men, Self

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.

Leadership, Coaching, Vision

Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

It is the individual only who is timeless. Societies, cultures, and civilizations -- past and present -- are often incomprehensible to outsiders, but the individual's hungers, anxieties, dreams, and preoccupations have remained unchanged through the millenia.

Dream, Past, Civilization

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.

Freedom, Men, Liberty

Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

The passion to get ahead is sometimes born of the fear lest we be left behind.

Passion, Sometimes, Born

A mass movement attracts and holds a following not because it can satisfy the desire for self-advancement, but because it can satisfy the passion for self-renunciation.

Passion, Self, Desire

Eric Hoffer (2011). “The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements”, p.12, Harper Collins

The impression somehow prevails that the true believer, particularly the religious individual, is a humble person. The truth is that the surrendering and humbling of the self breeds pride and arrogance.

Religious, Humble, Pride

ERIC HOFFER (1963). “THE TRUE BELIEVER”

There is nothing more explosive than a skilled population condemned to inaction. Such a population is likely to become a hotbed of extremism and intolerance, and be receptive to any proselytizing ideology, however absurd and vicious, which promises vast action.

Promise, Population, Action

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

Poverty when coupled with creativeness is usually free of frustration. This is true of the poor artisan skilled in his trade and of the poor writer, artist, and scientist in the full possession of creative powers. Nothing so bolsters our self-confidence and reconciles us with ourselves as the continuous ability to create; to see things grow and develop under our hand, day in, day out. The decline of handicrafts in modern times is perhaps one of the causes for the rise of frustration and the increased susceptibility of the individual to mass movements.

Self Confidence, Artist, Frustration

Eric Hoffer (1980). “The True Believer”

First something is a great idea, then it becomes a cause, then it becomes a business and finally it becomes a racket.

Ideas, Firsts, Causes

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement.

Achievement, Attractive

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

The intellectuals and the young, booted and spurred, feel themselves born to ride us.

Power, Corruption, Born

Vaguely at first, then more distinctly, I realized that man is an eternal stranger on this planet.

Men, Firsts, Stranger

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

A person's creative ability decreases in direct proportion to the degree to which he takes himself seriously.

Creative, Degrees, Proportion

A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.

War, Enemy, Defeated

"Reflections on the Human Condition". Book by Eric Hoffer, p. 127, 1973.

A low capacity for getting along with those near us often goes hand in hand with a high receptivity to the idea of the brotherhood of men.

Men, Brotherhood Of Man, Ideas

Eric Hoffer (1982). “Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer”, HarperCollins Publishers

The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything.

Inspirational, Fear, People

Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.

Believe, Everyday, Common

Eric Hoffer (1996). “The Passionate State of Mind”

Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.

Work, Ambition, Men

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