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The compulsion to take ourselves seriously is in inverse proportion to our creative capacity. When the creative flow dries up, all we have left is our importance.
Eric Hoffer
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Eric Hoffer
Age: 84 †
Born: 1898
Born: July 25
Died: 1983
Died: May 21
Philosopher
Psychologist
Writer
New York City
New York
Take
Seriously
Flow
Importance
Capacity
Creativity
Dries
Creative
Inverse
Left
Compulsion
Self
Proportion
More quotes by Eric Hoffer
Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.
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The real Antichrist is he who turns the wine of an original idea into the water of mediocrity.
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The individual who has to justify his existence by his own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.
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There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its leastworthy members.
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When our individual interests and prospects do not seem worth living for, we are in desperate need for something apart from us to live for. All forms of dedication, devotion, loyalty and self-surrender are in essence a desperate clinging to something which might give worth and meaning to our futile, spoiled lives.
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...the majority of people cannot endure the bareness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves.
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Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself.
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Unlimited opportunities can be as potent a cause of frustration as a paucity or lack of opportunities.
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When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
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Our doubts about ourselves cannot be banished except by working at that which is the one and only thing we know we ought to do. Other people's assertions cannot silence the howling dirge within us. It is our talents rusting unused within us that secrete the poison of self-doubt into our bloodstream.
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The most gifted members of the human species are at their creative best when they cannot have their way, and must compensate for what they miss by realizing and cultivating their capacities and talents.
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The future belongs to the learners-not the knowers.
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It is the malady of our age that the young are so busy teaching us that they have no time left to learn.
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Quite often the social doctors become part of the disease.
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Actual creativeness is a matter of moments. One has to piece together the minute grains to make a lump. And it is so easy to miss the momentary flashes, it is like sluicing in placer mining. He who lets the flakes float by has nothing to show for his trouble.
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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.
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No matter how noble the objectives of a government, if it blurs decency and kindness, cheapens human life, and breeds ill will and suspicion it is an evil government.
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The hatred and cruelty which have their source in selfishness are ineffectual things compared with the venom and ruthlessness born of selflessness.
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To be aware how fruitful the playful mood can be is to be immune to the propaganda of the alienated, which extols resentment as a fuel of achievement.
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Glory is largely a theatrical concept. There is no striving for glory without a vivid awareness of an audience.
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