Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
True power does not need to display itself; it is self-evident and self-sustaining.
In plain terms
Real power doesn't need to show off.
What can you take from it?
Confidence signals power without noise.

Where it applies

  • leadership
  • negotiation
  • personal growth

Putting it to work

  • cultivate inner confidence
  • act without posturing

Questions to consider

  • How do you recognize true power?
  • Do you need validation to feel strong?

Another view

Power can sometimes feel hollow without action.

More from Ralph Ellison

  1. Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.

    Permalink to quote #14
  2. The blues is an art of ambiguity, an assertion of the irrepressibly human over all circumstances, whether created by others or by one's own human failing.

    Permalink to quote #16
  3. If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it has also the power to blind, imprison, and destroy.

    Permalink to quote #13

Related quotes

  1. Faites que l'on vous craigne, et je ne craindrai rien.

    Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille quote #58
  2. To govern men, you must either excel them in their accomplishments, or despise them.

    Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli quote #1
  3. You can see that there were no strong characters surrounding Hitler. There were only weaklings like Ribbentrop, Funk, and so forth. Hitler wanted a silent audi…

    Paul SchmidtPaul Schmidt quote #1