--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be ruthless requires belief that our…" description: "\"To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice before some utopia can be instit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-hoffer-343_afterlife_to-be-ruthless-requires-belief-that-our_2942793.jpg" --- # To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is… ![“To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice before some utopia can be instituted. Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-hoffer-343_afterlife_to-be-ruthless-requires-belief-that-our_2942793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-hoffer-343_afterlife_to-be-ruthless-requires-belief-that-our_2942793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d5/eric-hoffer-343_afterlife_to-be-ruthless-requires-belief-that-our_2942793.jpg) > “To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice before some utopia can be instituted. Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ruthlessness stems from belief in a higher purpose; technical skill can replace faith in achieving goals. **In simple terms:** Purpose drives harsh actions; skill can substitute belief. Key Takeaway Align means with ethical purpose. Themes ruthlessness belief skill Mood critical ethical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - technological projects - social movements Key Concepts motivation goal attainment Questions to Reflect On - What purpose guides your actions? - Can skill alone justify means? A Different Perspective Technical skill without moral compass can be dangerous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-life-1046311/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Mountains Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains-need-1773867/) [Move mountains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/move-mountains/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-lives/) [Prelude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prelude/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Requires Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-belief-3289872/) [Ruthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless/) [Ruthless Requires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless-requires-4395645/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Technical skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technical-skills/) [Temporary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temporary/) [Utopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopia/) ## Related quotes > [Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/where-there-is-the-necessary-technical-skill-to-move-mountains-there/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“The practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-volf/the-practice-of-non-violence-requires-a-belief-in-divine-vengeance/) [Miroslav Volf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-volf/) > [A feeling of well-being requires a belief in illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-feeling-of-well-being-requires-a-belief-in-illusions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“leadership requires belief in the mission and unyielding perseverance to achieve victory, particularly when doubters question whether victory is even possible. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocko-willink/leadership-requires-belief-in-the-mission-and-unyielding-perseverance/) [Jocko Willink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocko-willink/) > [When there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-there-is-the-necessary-technical-skill-to-move-mountains-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As climbers, we need to sacrifice our comfort, our safety, and arguably our sanity, as a tithe to the mountain...We need the mountains but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-hall/as-climbers-we-need-to-sacrifice-our-comfort-our-safety-and-arguably/) [Lincoln Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-hall/) > [“You don't need great faith to move mountains, you only need to use the poor faith you say you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-velez/you-don-t-need-great-faith-to-move-mountains-you-only-need-to-use-the/) [Neil Velez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-velez/) > [You don't need to stand up for the tallest mountains; you do, however, need to stand up for the quietest rivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-payne/you-don-t-need-to-stand-up-for-the-tallest-mountains-you-do-however/) [Lia Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-payne/) > [“Anger is the prelude to courage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/anger-is-the-prelude-to-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Ideas have significance for him only as a prelude to action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/ideas-have-significance-for-him-only-as-a-prelude-to-action/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Anger is a prelude to courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/anger-is-a-prelude-to-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“Christianity is more than just a belief; it is a life of discipline, a firm determination to live a life of prayer and contemplation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-m-torres/christianity-is-more-than-just-a-belief-it-is-a-life-of-discipline-a/) [Ramon M. Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-m-torres/) > [“I once held a belief that life made sense, that working toward a dream would birth substance. Nothing else mattered. I soon discovered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hawke/i-once-held-a-belief-that-life-made-sense-that-working-toward-a-dream/) [Christopher Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hawke/) > [“One of the signs of insanity is the belief that life after death matters more than life on Earth!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/one-of-the-signs-of-insanity-is-the-belief-that-life-after-death/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“I want true love in this life, and true contentment and peace. But maybe the only way I can find those things is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kim/i-want-true-love-in-this-life-and-true-contentment-and-peace-but/) [Elizabeth Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kim/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. Philosophy is the play and dance of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-creative-mind-is-the-playful-mind-philosophy-is-the-play-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The best part of the art of living is to know how to grow old gracefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-best-part-of-the-art-of-living-is-to-know-how-to-grow-old/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“In the alchemy of man's soul almost all noble attributes--courage, honor, love, hope, faith, duty, loyalty, etc.--can be transmuted into ruthlessness. Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. I am, after all, dead. But I don't think of myself that way. It wasn't so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/most-people-would-probably-call-me-a-ghost-i-am-after-all-dead-but-i/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bare the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/people-i-thought-wanted-security-they-couldn-t-bare-the-idea-of-death/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Sometimes I think the resurrection of the body, unless much improved in construction, a mistake!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-underhill/sometimes-i-think-the-resurrection-of-the-body-unless-much-improved/) [Evelyn Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-underhill/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be ruthless requires belief that our life on earth is but a brief prelude to an afterlife, or a temporary sacrifice before some utopia can be instituted. 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