--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes power is all a person has, so…" description: "\"Sometimes power is all a person has, so they will protect it even unto their own destruction, for without power they have nothing.\" — Bryant H. McGill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_destruction_sometimes-power-is-all-a-person-has-so-t_2951224.jpg" --- # Sometimes power is all a person has, so they will protect… ![“Sometimes power is all a person has, so they will protect it even unto their own destruction, for without power they have nothing.” quote by Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_destruction_sometimes-power-is-all-a-person-has-so-t_2951224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_destruction_sometimes-power-is-all-a-person-has-so-t_2951224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/bryant-h-mcgill-2612_destruction_sometimes-power-is-all-a-person-has-so-t_2951224.jpg) > “Sometimes power is all a person has, so they will protect it even unto their own destruction, for without power they have nothing.” [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power becomes a sole identity, leading to self‑destruction when lost. **In simple terms:** Power as identity leads to ruin. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond power. Themes power identity destruction Mood cautionary serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - personal development - political activism Key Concepts psychology politics Questions to Reflect On - What defines you beyond power? - How do you protect self without power? A Different Perspective Power without purpose can be hollow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [“The only person who could protect my time was me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-macy-stafford/the-only-person-who-could-protect-my-time-was-me/) [Rachel Macy Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-macy-stafford/) > [You're the only person who will protect me.there's no trouble, no pain when I'm with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israa/you-re-the-only-person-who-will-protect-me-there-s-no-trouble-no-pain/) [Israa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israa/) > [Never love the person who cant protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/never-love-the-person-who-cant-protect-you/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [To forgive someone means to take away the power this person has over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-sylver/to-forgive-someone-means-to-take-away-the-power-this-person-has-over/) [Marshall Sylver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-sylver/) > [I don't like the term 'coming out' because it gives the power to the other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karamo-brown/i-don-t-like-the-term-coming-out-because-it-gives-the-power-to-the/) [Karamo Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karamo-brown/) > [Never give up your power to another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/never-give-up-your-power-to-another-person/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Never underestimate the power within you, because you may be the only person in the entire universe to solve a specific problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/never-underestimate-the-power-within-you-because-you-may-be-the-only/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [I'm not a power person. I like everyone to be on an equal footing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-m-not-a-power-person-i-like-everyone-to-be-on-an-equal-footing/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The thing that always strikes me is how much power one person has. Everybody has so much power to help and to change if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/the-thing-that-always-strikes-me-is-how-much-power-one-person-has/) [Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/) > [The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-martin-kohe/the-greatest-power-that-a-person-possesses-is-the-power-to-choose/) [J. Martin Kohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-martin-kohe/) > [when you judge the power that is in a person, you must judge their capacities as both friend and as enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/when-you-judge-the-power-that-is-in-a-person-you-must-judge-their/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [We can have reunification if another power replaces Kim Jong Un. I don't know who it could be, but I hope and I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hyeon-seo/we-can-have-reunification-if-another-power-replaces-kim-jong-un-i-don/) [Lee Hyeon-seo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hyeon-seo/) > [The power of a person derives not from the office he occupies but from a clear sense of direction and aspiration and from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/the-power-of-a-person-derives-not-from-the-office-he-occupies-but/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [When someone means so much to us. We will do anything and everything in our power to be with that person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/when-someone-means-so-much-to-us-we-will-do-anything-and-everything/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“The greatest power a person possesses is the power to choose. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-martin-kohe/the-greatest-power-a-person-possesses-is-the-power-to-choose/) [J. Martin Kohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-martin-kohe/) ## More by Bryant H. McGill > [True education is limited to those people who would die without knowing, whereas the masses in the institutions are merely going through the motions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/true-education-is-limited-to-those-people-who-would-die-without/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [You reclaim your power by loving what you were once taught to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/you-reclaim-your-power-by-loving-what-you-were-once-taught-to-hate/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [It will feel impossible; like you are dying inside this is your soul crying out for life. It may take everything you have; every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/it-will-feel-impossible-like-you-are-dying-inside-this-is-your-soul/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Genius is always accompanied by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/genius-is-always-accompanied-by-enthusiasm/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [My self-esteem had been crushed through years of childhood bullying and serious abuses, which would take me decades to overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/my-self-esteem-had-been-crushed-through-years-of-childhood-bullying/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Good manners are appreciated as much as bad manners are abhorred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/good-manners-are-appreciated-as-much-as-bad-manners-are-abhorred/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Become empty to become complete, for it is the void that defines the form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/become-empty-to-become-complete-for-it-is-the-void-that-defines-the/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Dare to love every person, including yourself. Become the energy of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/dare-to-love-every-person-including-yourself-become-the-energy-of-love/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [A mistake made by many people with great convictions is that they will let nothing stand in the way of their views, not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/a-mistake-made-by-many-people-with-great-convictions-is-that-they/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [You are the artist and the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/you-are-the-artist-and-the-art/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [In America, educators punish those who actually think for themselves. There is only acceptance for popular opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/in-america-educators-punish-those-who-actually-think-for-themselves/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Hate controls everything it touches, but love sets everything it touches free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/hate-controls-everything-it-touches-but-love-sets-everything-it/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Let people speak. Let people disagree. Communicate. Listen. Have high-respect, if not for your opponent, then for your own comportment and conduct as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/let-people-speak-let-people-disagree-communicate-listen-have-high/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [While it is important for people to see your promise you must also remember that hope is the keeper of both happiness and disappointment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/while-it-is-important-for-people-to-see-your-promise-you-must-also/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) > [Stop your worrying, panicking and stressing. Breathe. Remember, you made it this far through difficulties that seemed impossible. Remember how many times you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-h-mcgill/stop-your-worrying-panicking-and-stressing-breathe-remember-you-made/) [Bryant H. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) [Explore all 158 Bryant H. McGill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-h-mcgill/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) Atiq Rahimi [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes power is all a person has, so they will protect it even unto their own destruction, for without power they have nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bryant H. 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