Eric Hoffer

The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.

The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.

All leaders strive to turn their followers into children.

All leaders strive to turn their followers into children.

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle read more

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still have to prove our worth anew each day: we have to prove that we are as good today as we were yesterday. But when we have a valid alibi for not achieving anything we are fixed, so to speak, for life. Moreover, when we have an alibi for not writing a book, painting a picture, and so on, we have an alibi for not writing the greatest book and not painting the greatest picture. Small wonder that the effort expended and the punishment endured in obtaining a good alibi often exceed the effort and grief requisite for the attainment of a most marked achievement.

The frustrated follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than read more

The frustrated follow a leader less because of their faith that he is leading them to a promised land than because of their immediate feeling that he is leading them away from their unwanted selves. Surrender to a leader is not a means to an end but a fulfillment. Whither they are led is of secondary importance.

There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet.

There are no chaste minds. Minds copulate wherever they meet.