There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem.
~ Eric Hoffer

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Pride is a sense of worth derived from something that is not organically part of us, while self-esteem derives from the potentialities and achievements of the self.
~ Eric Hoffer

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It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power — power to oppress others. The oppressed want above all to imitate their oppressors; they want to retaliate.
~ Eric Hoffer

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A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people’s business.
~ Eric Hoffer

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Unless a man has talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.
~ Eric Hoffer

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When people are free to do as we please, they usually imitate each other.
~ Eric Hoffer

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Failure in the management of practical affairs seems to be a qualification for success in the management of public affairs.
~ Eric Hoffer

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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.
~ Eric Hoffer

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Our passionate preoccupation with the sky, the stars, and a God somewhere in outer space is a homing impulse. We are drawn back to where we came from.
~ Eric Hoffer

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When, for whatever reason, self-esteem is unattainable, the autonomous individual becomes a highly explosive entity. He turns away from an unpromising self and plunges into the pursuit of pride — the explosive substitute for self-esteem.
~ Eric Hoffer

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