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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Most people prove their worth by staying busy because few have the chance to develop their true talents.
- In plain terms
- People stay busy to feel valuable since few get to use their real skills.
- What can you take from it?
- True worth comes from developing talents, not just staying busy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do you feel you must be busy to matter?
- What talents do you want to develop?
Another view
Productivity and activity are not without value in a functioning society.
More from Eric Hoffer
The fanatic is not really a stickler to principle. He embraces a cause not primarily because of its justness or holiness but because of his desperate need for …
Permalink to quote #202 The less satisfaction we derive from being ourselves, the greater is our desire to be like others.
Permalink to quote #204 The end comes when we no longer talk with ourselves. It is the end of genuine thinking and the beginning of the final loneliness. The remarkable thing is that …
Permalink to quote #201
Related quotes
Who in the same given time can produce more than others has vigor; who can produce more and better, has talents; who can produce what none else can, has genius.
Johann Kaspar LavaterJohann Kaspar Lavater quote #1 Beware of Methodologies. They are a great way to bring everyone up to a dismal, but passable, level of performance, but at the same time, they are aggravating …
Joel SpolskyJoel Spolsky quote #3 Are you sitting comfortably? Then get up. This is no time for sloth.
Maureen LipmanMaureen Lipman quote #4