Reluctant Cult Leader Quotes

A dismal omen: ... this morning a woman handed me a dollar bill that was translucent from age, as soft and warm as living tissue. ~ Kathleen Maher

I dressed in another high school special from my closet: a long, shapeless floral dress with about twenty buttons down the front. Maybe that doesn't sound too bad, but let me assure you, it looked like the polar opposite of terrific once I'd tied my orange sneakers on. I looked like the least favorite wife of a cult leader. ~ Maia Chance

I don't think it takes much for a cult to be a cult. Many parts of our society are cultish, and you only need a charismatic leader and some teachings, and before you know it, you have a cult. ~ Jerome Flynn

To truly understand the Nazis," Ulmstrom said, leading the way, "you have to stop considering them as a political party. They called themselves Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei - the National Socialist German Workers' Party - but in reality, they were really a cult." "A cult?" Gray asked. "They bore all the trappings, ja? A spiritual leader who could not be questioned, disciples who wore matching clothes, rituals and blood oaths performed in secret, and most important of all, the creation of a potent totem to worship. The Hakenkreuz. The Broken Cross, also called the swastika. A symbol to supplant the crucifix and the Star of David." "Hari krishnas on steroids," Monk mumbled. "Do not joke. The Nazis understood the inherent power of ideas. A power greater than any gun or rocket. They used it to subjugate and brainwash an entire nation. ~ James Rollins

Once in power, Stalin's campaign to succeed Lenin required a legitimate heroic career which he did not possess because of his experience in what he called 'the dirty business' of politics: this could not be told, either because it was too gangsterish for a great, paternalistic statesman or because it was too Georgian for a Russian leader. His solution was a clumsy but all-embracing cult of personality that invented, distorted and concealed the truth. Ironically this self-promotion was so grotesque that it fanned sparks, sometimes innocent ones, which flared up into colossal anti-Stalin conspiracy-theories. It was easy for his political opponents, and later for us historians, to believe that it was all invented and that he had done nothing much at all - particularly since few historians had researched in the Caucasus where so much of his early career took place. An anti-cult, as erroneous as the cult itself, grew up around these conspiracy-theories. ~ Simon Sebag Montefiore

Which is why I'd like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound. And this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. That's right. The pope is coming to America this week, and, ladies, he's single! ~ Bill Maher

I've been involved in a number of cults both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower but you make more money as a leader. ~ Creed Bratton

You are upset because one of your actors got on the wrong lane doing something with the wrong people. And you want to blame somebody else for it. And you got to dig up some poor-ass idiot that don't have the brain of a retarded spastican and make him a cult leader! ~ Charles Manson

I call myself the assistant cult leader. ~ Charlie Munger

Someone recently pointed out how much Barack Obama's style and strategies resemble those of Latin American charismatic despots - the takeover of industries by demagogues who never ran a business, the rousing rhetoric of resentment addressed to the masses and the personal cult of the leader promoted by the media. But do we want to become the world's largest banana republic? ~ Thomas Sowell

Cult leaders are often self-styled prophets who have not studied with great teachers or undergone lengthy training or discipline themselves ... Many of the most dangerous cultic figures of our times have no such stabilizing context of tradition, lineage or transmission, but are self-proclaimed gurus who sway their followers through their charismatic talents ... ~ John Welwood

Charlie doesn't know herself. Four years from now, at eighteen, she'll join a cult across the Mexican border whose charismatic leader promotes a diet of raw eggs; she'll nearly die from salmonella poisoning before Lou rescues her. A cocaine habit will require partial reconstruction of her nose, changing her appearance, and a series of feckless, domineering men will leave her solitary in her late twenties, trying to broker peace between Rolph and Lou, who will have stopped speaking. ~ Jennifer Egan

The difference between a cult and a religion is one outlasts its leader. ~ Rakesh Khurana

A cult leader alone in his beliefs is just a crazy dude with a beard. ~ Caitlin Doughty

Certainly, I am aware that there have been a number of articles written about me and television shows in which I have been featured and referred to as a "cult leader." ~ Frederick Lenz

As I became older, I was given many masks to wear. I could be a laborer laying railroad tracks across the continent, with long hair in a queue to be pulled by pranksters; a gardener trimming the shrubs while secretly planting a bomb; a saboteur before the day of infamy at Pearl Harbor, signaling the Imperial Fleet; a kamikaze pilot donning his headband somberly, screaming 'Banzai' on my way to my death; a peasant with a broad-brimmed straw hat in a rice paddy on the other side of the world, stooped over to toil in the water; an obedient servant in the parlor, a houseboy too dignified for my own good; a washerman in the basement laundry, removing stains using an ancient secret; a tyrant intent on imposing my despotism on the democratic world, opposed by the free and the brave; a party cadre alongside many others, all of us clad in coordinated Mao jackets; a sniper camouflaged in the trees of the jungle, training my gunsights on G.I. Joe; a child running with a body burning from napalm, captured in an unforgettable photo; an enemy shot in the head or slaughtered by the villageful; one of the grooms in a mass wedding of couples, having met my mate the day before through our cult leader; an orphan in the last airlift out of a collapsed capital, ready to be adopted into the good life; a black belt martial artist breaking cinderblocks with his head, in an advertisement for Ginsu brand knives with the slogan 'but wait--there's more' as the commercial segued to show another free gift ~ Frank H. Wu

I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, Whip McCarthy and the entire republican conference as we repeal Obamacare, fight rampant job killing regulations, cut spending and help put folks back to work. ~ Fred Upton

Finally, the work of the minister tended to be judged by his success in a single area - the saving of souls in measurable numbers. The local minister was judged either by his charismatic powers or by his ability to prepare his congregation for the preaching of some itinerant ministerial charmer who would really awaken its members. The 'star' system prevailed in religion before it reached the theater. As the evangelical impulse became more widespread and more dominant, the selection and training of ministers was increasingly shaped by the revivalist criterion of ministerial merit. The Puritan ideal of the minister as an intellectual and educational leader was steadily weakened in the face of the evangelical ideal of the minister as a popular crusader and exhorter. Theological education itself became more instrumental. Simple dogmatic formulations were considered sufficient. In considerable measure the churches withdrew from intellectual encounters with the secular world, gave up the idea that religion is a part of the whole life of intellectual experience, and often abandoned the field of rational studies on the assumption that they were the natural province of science alone. By 1853 an outstanding clergyman complained that there was 'an impression, somewhat general, that an intellectual clergyman is deficient in piety, and that an eminently pious minister is deficient in intellect. ~ Richard Hofstadter

Hope, Glory and Victory over All the Lives of Life,
Religious Leader Petra Cecilia Maria Hermans
Religion of Blue Circle
Babaji
October 9, 2016 ~ Petra Hermans

A real leader respects everyone, and gives them the space to realise their mistakes. ~ Jack Canfield

Serving others prepares you to lead others. ~ Jim George

If Hitler's Mein Kampf (only the Bible has sold more copies his century), his speeches and opinions are the rantings of a madman as is claimed why are they not readily available so that we can judge for ourselves? Is it because the victor's lies cannot bear the cold light of objectivity?
Here then is a rare opportunity to examine the authentic first-hand expressions uttered by German Leader who won the hearts of minds of hundreds of millions of Europeans. ~ Michael Walsh

The ideal of a single civilization for everyone, implicit in the cult of progress and technique, impoverishes and mutilates us ~ Octavio Paz

You can't be a great leader if your heart is not filled with greatness. ~ Debasish Mridha

Our lives are marked by the people who choose to matter more: the teacher who encouraged our curiosity, the neighbor who lent a helping hand in time of need, the great leaders and perceptive thinkers whose vision and innovation improve the quality of our lives. And that's what it means to matter more. It's not about pursuit of riches or fame. It's about making a difference in people's lives. Remembered or not, lived out in a small town or on the world stage, the journey of relevance matters. ~ Marian Deegan

It's the princes who hold the allure. In their youth. In the allegiance of their people. In the promise of the leader they could one day become. They are the next generation of rules, and by killing them, I kill the future. Just as my mother taught me. ~ Alexandra Christo

This is a critical time in American history. [Donald's Trump] strength is willingness to stand up to political conventions, take on Republican and Democrat leaders, and, in effect, do so in defense of the legitimate interest of people who make less than median income in America, is the key to victory. ~ Jeff Sessions

Believing that your company is not just about making money, that there is a meaning and a purpose to what you do, that your company has a mission, and that you want to be part of that mission - that is a big prerequisite for working at one of these places. How that differs from joining what might otherwise be called a cult is not entirely clear. What is the difference between a loyal employee and brainwashed cultist? At what point does a person go from being the former to the latter? ~ Dan Lyons

The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves. ~ John C. Maxwell

The job of the leader is to speak to the possibility. ~ Benjamin Zander

Try to do for the next generation of church leaders what the previous generation of church leaders has not done for you. ~ Andy Stanley

Some people may regard my views well and show respect to me, and I hope they have not deceived themselves in doing so. Some people think that I am a leader of a movement. ~ Fethullah Gulen

Abner Larrabee's wife, who is a social leader in town, wailed piteously in a letter to the editor of the Mammoth Falls Gazette that her prize peonies had been stoned to death just before they reached the full glory of their bloom. She complained bitterly about "wanton boys who create mischief with their teen-age pranks" and wondered when the mayor was going to do something about the problem of juvenile delinquency. ~ Bertrand R. Brinley

The power in people is stronger than people in power. ~ Saji Ijiyemi

A leader has fear but he knows how to overcome it. ~ Debasish Mridha

Why in times of need do we call on that one person? Why do we confide in that one person. Why do we feel safe with that one person? Why would we follow that one person anywhere? Because that person is a leader. ~ Ben Greenhalgh

What makes a good leader? I ask myself this every day, and then as I begin to list off characteristics I realize I'm describing myself. Am I the ideal leader? Let's just say that if I were running for political office, I know who I'd vote for - twice. ~ Jarod Kintz

Intelligence is a mere means of building ones focus,it's knowledge,wisdom and understanding that is the factor that attributes to one achieving ones position in society to gain ones place to be a leader and a guide ~ Marcelle Hinkson

If the workers see themselves faced with defeat through starvation, they will prefer to go down fighting rather than fainting - and whether or not we leaders agree. ~ Ernest Bevin

His hair was mussed, and his teeth were very white in his swarthy, dust-streaked face. With his autocratic facade stripped away, and his eyes sparkling with enjoyment, his grin was so unexpectedly engaging that Lillian experienced a curious melting sensation inside. Hanging over him, she felt her own lips curving in a reluctant smile. A loose lock of her hair dangled free of its tether, sliding silkily over his jaw.
"What's a trebuchet?" she asked.
"A catapult. I have a friend who has a keen interest in medieval weaponry. He…" Westcliff hesitated, a new tension seeming to spread through his taut body as he lay beneath her. "He recently built a trebuchet using an ancient design…and enlisted me to help fire it…"
Lillian was entertained by the idea that the normally reserved Westcliff was capable of such boyish antics. Realizing that she was straddling him, she colored and began to wriggle off him. "Your aim was off?" she asked, striving to sound casual.
"The owner of the stone wall we demolished seemed to think so." The earl caught his breath sharply as her body slid away from his, and remained sitting on the ground even after she had gotten to her feet. ~ Lisa Kleypas

The leader of another crack gang once told Venkatesh that he could easily afford to pay his foot soldiers more, but it wouldn't be prudent. "You got all these niggers below you who want your job, you dig?" he said. "So, you know, you try to take care of them, but you know, you also have to show them you the boss. You always have to get yours first, or else you really ain't no leader. If you start taking losses, they see you as weak and shit. ~ Steven D. Levitt

Nor did the Antarctic represent to Shackleton merely the grubby means to a financial end. In a very real sense he needed it - something so enormous, so demanding, that it provided a touchstone for his monstrous ego and implacable drive. In ordinary situations, Shackleton's tremendous capacity for boldness and daring found almost nothing worthy of its pulling power; he was a Percheron draft horse harnessed to a child's wagon cart. But in the Antarctic - here was a burden which challenged every atom of his strength.

Thus, while Shackleton was undeniably out of place, even inept, in a great many everyday situations, he had a talent - a genius, even - that he shared with only a handful of men throughout history - genuine leadership. He was, as one of his men put it, "the greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none. ~ Alfred Lansing

The more humble and transparent a leader is, the more effective he or she will be. ~ Michael Hyatt

If a leader shows strong discipline, others will see it and cooperate with the expectations placed on them. At this point, leadership by example is crucial. ~ J. Oswald Sanders

To connect is to dissolve the imaginary pyramids of artificial privilege. ~ Stefan Molyneux

In fact, some leaders come right out and say it. Mario Draghi the president of the European Central Bank had an interview with the Wall St Journal in which he said the social contract's dead; we finally got rid of it. ~ Noam Chomsky

Qualities that the world considers virtues will lead a leader to ruin, while those regarded as vices will often bring safety and prosperity. Good leadership requires a prince to "know how to do evil. ~ Ross King

The study of love is an emerging field. Perhaps the leaders in the field are a group called The Institute of HeartMath who have found that we have many physiological, psychological, and social benefits when we're living with greater love, care, and compassion. ~ Marci Shimoff

I had a very loyal cult-like following, I feel. And I don't mean to complain about that. ~ Karen Joy Fowler

It's always interesting to watch people who have been incredibly successful in their own businesses work in a group made up of equally strong personalities. It takes a special kind of leader who can effectively manage a team of veritable strangers and find the best way to get strong, winning performances from them. ~ Donald Trump