We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. Eric Hoffer More Quotes by Eric Hoffer More Quotes From Eric Hoffer It is the stretched soul that makes music, and souls are stretched by the pull of opposites-opposite bents, tastes, yearnings, loyalties. Where there is no polarity-where energies flow smoothly in one direction-there will be much doing but no music. Eric Hoffer one-directionmusicloyalty EVERY intense desire is perhaps basically a desire to be different from what we are. Eric Hoffer intensedifferentdesire It is the around-the-corner brand of hope that prompts people to action, while the distant hope acts as an opiate. Eric Hoffer opiateshopepeople We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good. We assume that the bad is more potent and contagious. Eric Hoffer generalizationcontagiousassuming Our credulity is greatest concerning the things we know least about. And since we know least about ourselves, we are ready to believe all that is said about us. Hence the mysterious power of both flattery and calumny. Eric Hoffer calumny-isbelieveknowledge We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves. Eric Hoffer liedwisdomlying Creativity is discontent translated into arts. Eric Hoffer creativityinspirationalart Whenever you trace the origin of a skill or practices which played a crucial role in the ascent of man, we usually reach the realm of play. Eric Hoffer skillsplaymen When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. Eric Hoffer sarcasmfreedomsarcastic 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. Eric Hoffer businesspeopleworld It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities. Eric Hoffer successopportunitymen 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. Eric Hoffer dreamcivilizationpast Men weary as much of not doing the things they want to do as of doing the things they do not want to do. Eric Hoffer being-singlebeing-yourselfmen The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do. Eric Hoffer testsfreedom The wise learn from the experience of others, and the creative know how to make a crumb of experience go a long way. Eric Hoffer creativewiselong The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything. Eric Hoffer fearinspirationalpeople 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. Eric Hoffer humanitysheeppeople We feel free when we escape - even if it be but from the frying pan to the fire. Eric Hoffer frying-pansfreedomfire Youth itself is a talent, a perishable talent. Eric Hoffer youthtalenttime The genuine artist is as much a dissatisfied person as the revolutionary, yet how diametrically opposed are the products each distills from his dissatisfaction. Eric Hoffer genuinerevolutionaryart
