Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer
Eric Hofferwas an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer, was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change was his finest work...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth25 July 1902
CountryUnited States of America
leadership coaching vision
The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.
art revolutionary genuine
The genuine artist is as much a dissatisfied person as the revolutionary, yet how diametrically opposed are the products each distills from his dissatisfaction.
creativity order chaos
Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature.
success opportunity men
It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities.
games history political
The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle.
failure people achievement
For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life.
being-yourself being-single men
Men weary as much of not doing the things they want to do as of doing the things they do not want to do.
humanness-is language asks
Language was invented to ask questions.
sheep people humanity
Absolute power corrupts even when exercised for humane purposes. The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep. The taint inherent in absolute power is not its inhumanity but its anti-humanity.
lying lied lies-truth
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
patriotic europe asia
A ruling intelligentsia, whether in Europe, Asia or Africa, treats the masses as raw material to be experimented on, processed, and wasted at will.
self-esteem humility vanity
There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanity of the selfless, even those who practice utmost humility, is boundless.
men survival kind
The pre-human creature from which man evolved was unlike any other living thing in its malicious viciousness toward its own kind. Humanization was not a leap forward but a groping toward survival.
believe everyday common
When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.