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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

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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
World
People
Busiest
Ought
Business
Else
Anything
Thing
Time

More quotes by Eric Hoffer

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A nation without dregs and malcontents is orderly, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come.
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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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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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Facts are counterrevolutionary.
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Communists are frustrated capitalists.
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America is still the best country for the common man -- white or black ... if he can't make it here he won't make it anywhere else.
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A man's soul is pierced as it were with holes, and as his longings flow through each they are transmuted into something specific.
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The individual's most vital need is to prove his worth, and this usually means an insatiable hunger for action. For it is only the few who can acquire a sense of worth by developing and employing their capacities and talents. The majority prove their worth by keeping busy.
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Originality is deliberate and forced, and partakes of the nature of a protest.
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Perhaps our originality manifests itself most strikingly in what we do with that which we did not originate. To discover something wholly new can be a matter of chance, of idle tinkering, or even of the chronic dissatisfaction of the untalented.
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It takes a vice to check a vice, and virtue is the by-product of a stalemate between opposite vices.
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Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.
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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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Both the revolutionary and the creative individual are perpetual juveniles. The revolutionary does not grow up because he cannot grow, while the creative individual cannot grow up because he keeps growing.
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Where unity and self-sacrifice are indispensable for the normal functioning of society, everyday life is likely to be either religiofied (common tasks turned into holy causes) or militarized.
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Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true.
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Creativity is discontent translated into arts.
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The greatest weariness comes from work not done.
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Compassion is the antitoxin of the soul.
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It is apparently vital that we should be in the dark about ourselves not to be clear about our intentions, fears, and hopes. There is a stubborn effort in us to set up a compact screen between consciousness and the self.
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