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Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Eric Hoffer Quotes

“Proselytizing is more a passionate search for something not yet found than a desire to bestow upon the world something we already have. It is a search for a final and irrefutable demonstration that our absolute truth is indeed the one and only truth. The proselytizing fanatic strengthens his own faith by converting others.”

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Author:Eric Hoffer
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“One wonders whether a generation that demands instant satisfaction of all its needs and instant solution of the world's problems will produce anything of lasting value. Such a generation, even when equipped with the most modern technology, will be essentially primitive it will stand in awe of nature, and submit to the tutelage of medicine men.”

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Author:Eric Hoffer
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“For though ours is a godless age, it is the very opposite of irreligious. The true believer is everywhere on the march, and both by converting and antagonizing he is shaping the world in his own image. And whether we are to line up with him or against him, it is well that we should know all we can concerning his nature and potentialities.”

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Book:THE TRUE BELIEVER
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“All mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. They do this by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ.”

WorldFactsRealityMovementHolyTruth IsMassUltimateBasesAbsolutesStriveProofScreensBelieverDoctrineConclusionObservationFaithfulAbsolute TruthTrue BelieverCertitude
Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“Learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

WorldLifeInspirationalHumorMotivationalEarthSuccessTimeChangeLeadershipDealsBusinessExistenceKnowledgeLearningTeachingGreat LeaderChange ManagementLearnersWorld LeaderBeing A LeaderGreat LeadershipLeadership By Famous LeadersUnschoolingLife LearningGreat ChangeLeadership By Great LeadersTime For A ChangeContinuous LearningNever Stop LearningKnowledge And LearningTimes Have ChangedEmbrace ChangeTime And ChangeLearning KnowledgeCreating ChangeBusiness ChangeManaging ChangeVisionary LeadersLeadership And ChangeLearning LifeContinuous Change
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“The autonomous individual, striving to realize himself and prove his worth, has created all that is great in literature, art, music, science and technology. The autonomous individual, also, when he can neither realize himself nor justify his existence by his own efforts, is a breeding call of frustration, and the seed of the convulsions which shake our world to its foundations.”

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Book:The Passionate State of Mind
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“The atheist is a religious person. He believes in atheism as though it were a new religion. According to Renan, "The day after that on which the world should no longer believe in God, atheists would be the wretchedest of all men."”

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Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“No totalitarian censor can approach the implacability of the censor who controls the line of communication between the outer world and our consciousness. Nothing is allowed to reach us which might weaken our confidence and lower our morale. To most of us nothing is so invisible as an unpleasant truth.”

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Book:The Passionate State of Mind
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“[The designated or chosen leader tries to] articulate and justify the resentment dammed up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breathtaking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages the world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldTryingBelieveSoulSelfActionUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageChosenRealizationJustifyResentmentFrustratedIndispensableSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryBreathtaking
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world.”

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Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is on the contrary born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.”

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Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“To grow old is to grow common. Old age equalizes -- we are aware that what is happening to us has happened to untold numbers from the beginning of time. When we are young we act as if we were the first young people in the world.”

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Book:Between the Devil and the Dragon: The Best Essays and Aphorisms of Eric Hoffer
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“The leader personifies the certitude of the creed and the defiance and grandeur of power. He articulates and justifies the resentment damned up in the souls of the frustrated. He kindles the vision of a breath-taking future so as to justify the sacrifice of a transitory present. He stages a world of make-believe so indispensable for the realization of self-sacrifice and united action.”

WorldBelieveSoulSelfActionLeadershipUnitedLeaderVisionSacrificeStageBreathsRealizationJustifyResentmentCreedsFrustratedIndispensableGrandeurDefianceSelf SacrificeKindlesMake BelieveTransitoryCertitude
Author:Eric Hoffer
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“It is a juvenile notion that a society needs a lofty purpose and a shining vision to achieve much. Both in the market place and on the battlefield men who set their hearts on toys have often displayed unequal initiative and drive. And one must be ignorant of the creative process to look for a close correspondence between motive and achievement in the world of thought and imagination.”

MenWorldNeedsLooksHeartPurposeProcessImaginationVisionCreativeAchieveAchievementShiningNotionIgnorantMotiveToysCreative ProcessInitiativeBattlefieldsLoftyCorrespondenceJuvenile
Author:Eric Hoffer
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