--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I really believe that more harm is done…" description: "\"I really believe that more harm is done by old men who cling to their influence than by young men who anticipate it.\" — Owen D. Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/owen-d-young-33818_anticipate_i-really-believe-that-more-harm-is-done_2244884.png" --- # I really believe that more harm is done by old men who… ![“I really believe that more harm is done by old men who cling to their influence than by young men who anticipate it.” quote by Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/owen-d-young-33818_anticipate_i-really-believe-that-more-harm-is-done_2244884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/owen-d-young-33818_anticipate_i-really-believe-that-more-harm-is-done_2244884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f6/owen-d-young-33818_anticipate_i-really-believe-that-more-harm-is-done_2244884.png) > “I really believe that more harm is done by old men who cling to their influence than by young men who anticipate it.” [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older men holding power cause more damage than younger men who challenge it. **In simple terms:** Powerful elders can be more harmful than ambitious youth. Key Takeaway Encourage fresh perspectives over entrenched authority. Themes leadership generational conflict power dynamics Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - corporate boards - political parties - academic institutions Key Concepts authority innovation age bias Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms ensure balanced influence across ages? - How can institutions value both experience and new ideas? A Different Perspective Youth may lack experience to enact change effectively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Old men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-men/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [The past is dead, and nothing that we can choose to believe about it can harm or benefit those who were alive in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-terence-quincey-stewart/the-past-is-dead-and-nothing-that-we-can-choose-to-believe-about-it/) Anthony Terence Quincey Stewart > [I believe that the harm which Mill has done to the world by the passage in his book on Political Economy in which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cobden/i-believe-that-the-harm-which-mill-has-done-to-the-world-by-the/) [Richard Cobden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cobden/) > [It's hard for me to believe someone could harm a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-grace/it-s-hard-for-me-to-believe-someone-could-harm-a-child/) [Nancy Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-grace/) > [“The most insidous influence on the young is not violence, drugs, drink or sexual perversion, but our pursuit of the trivial and tolerance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-eric-anderson-headmaster-of-eton/the-most-insidous-influence-on-the-young-is-not-violence-drugs-drink/) Dr. Eric Anderson Headmaster of Eton > [You have to feel fortunate to be one of the people whom parents don't mind their children looking up to. The older I get,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/you-have-to-feel-fortunate-to-be-one-of-the-people-whom-parents-don-t/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [The public aren't stupid, they know that celebrities are getting paid to promote. I don't want to influence young women to do or buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-keegan/the-public-aren-t-stupid-they-know-that-celebrities-are-getting-paid/) [Michelle Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-keegan/) > [I think the most dangerous influence for a young writer is to be treated with cynicism or discouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/i-think-the-most-dangerous-influence-for-a-young-writer-is-to-be/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [You acquire more influence with young people when you give up using your power to control them...and the more you use your power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gordon/you-acquire-more-influence-with-young-people-when-you-give-up-using/) [Thomas Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gordon/) > [At almost every step in life we meet with young men from whom we anticipate wonderful things, but of whom, after careful inquiry, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/at-almost-every-step-in-life-we-meet-with-young-men-from-whom-we/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mcgovern/i-m-fed-up-to-the-ears-with-old-men-dreaming-up-wars-for-young-men-to/) [George McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mcgovern/) > [“In childhood, you long to grow up fast because older people are more powerful, young men more powerful. A child just longs to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/in-childhood-you-long-to-grow-up-fast-because-older-people-are-more/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, And answered them after the advice of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/and-the-king-answered-them-roughly-and-king-rehoboam-forsook-the/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Young men mend not their sight by using old men's spectacles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/young-men-mend-not-their-sight-by-using-old-men-s-spectacles/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“may be well to repeat here the saying that old men talk of what they have done, young men of what they are doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/may-be-well-to-repeat-here-the-saying-that-old-men-talk-of-what-they/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Your old men shall dream dreams your young men shall see visions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-2-28/your-old-men-shall-dream-dreams-your-young-men-shall-see-visions/) Joel 2.28 ## More by Owen D. Young > [When boasting ends, there dignity begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/when-boasting-ends-there-dignity-begins/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [It is not the crook in modern business that we fear, but the honest man who doesn't know what he is doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/it-is-not-the-crook-in-modern-business-that-we-fear-but-the-honest/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [The man who can put himself in the place of other men, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/the-man-who-can-put-himself-in-the-place-of-other-men-who-can/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [Government means politics, and interference by government carries with it always the implication of coercion. We may accept the expanding power of bureaucrats so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/government-means-politics-and-interference-by-government-carries-with/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [It takes visions and courage to create. It takes faith and courage to prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/it-takes-visions-and-courage-to-create-it-takes-faith-and-courage-to/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [We wake up to find the whole world building competitive trade barriers, just as we found it a few years ago building competitive armaments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/we-wake-up-to-find-the-whole-world-building-competitive-trade/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [Markets as well as mobs respond to human emotions; markets as well as mobs can be inflamed to their own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/markets-as-well-as-mobs-respond-to-human-emotions-markets-as-well-as/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [We are not to judge thrift solely by the test of saving or spending. If one spends what he should prudently save, that certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/we-are-not-to-judge-thrift-solely-by-the-test-of-saving-or-spending/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [Capital which overreaches for profits; labor which overreaches for wages, or a public which overreaches for bargains will all destroy such other. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/capital-which-overreaches-for-profits-labor-which-overreaches-for/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [What I am concerned about in this fast-moving world in a time of crises, both in foreign and domestic affairs, is not so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/what-i-am-concerned-about-in-this-fast-moving-world-in-a-time-of/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [It takes vision and courage to create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/it-takes-vision-and-courage-to-create/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [It takes vision and courage to create - it takes faith and courage to prove.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/it-takes-vision-and-courage-to-create-it-takes-faith-and-courage-to/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) > [The world does not owe men a living, but business, if it is to fulfill its ideal, owes men an opportunity to earn a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-d-young/the-world-does-not-owe-men-a-living-but-business-if-it-is-to-fulfill/) [Owen D. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) [Explore all 14 Owen D. Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-d-young/) ## More Anticipate quotes > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I like to do everything you can possibly do before you go into rehearsal, because once we are in rehearsal or on the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-prince/i-like-to-do-everything-you-can-possibly-do-before-you-go-into/) [Harold Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-prince/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. 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It's going to be great to get everyone together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-conley/i-wish-i-could-anticipate-some-of-the-stories-and-lies-that-will-be/) Larry Conley > [The two revolutions, I mean the annual revolutions of the declination and of the centre of the Earth, are not completely equal; that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/the-two-revolutions-i-mean-the-annual-revolutions-of-the-declination/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [In two or three hundred years life on earth will be unimaginably beautiful, astounding. 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