# Quote — Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

> The prospect of outsized profits leads people to exaggerate their own capabilities. In their minds. They pretend to themselves that they are in control of events where perhaps they are not. And it is always one's stance upon uncertain ground that invites the attentions of one's enemies. Or discourages it.

- Author: [Cormac McCarthy](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy.md)
- Book: [No Country for Old Men](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/no-country-for-old-men.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/No_Country_for_Old_Men#Quotes) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/no-country-for-old-men/the-prospect-of-outsized

## More from this book

> If it ain't a mess, it'll do till the mess gets here.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/no-country-for-old-men/if-it-aint.md)

> All the time you spend tryin to get back what's been took from you there's more goin out the door. After a while you just try and get a tourniquet on it.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/no-country-for-old-men/all-the-time.md)

> If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/no-country-for-old-men/if-the-rule.md)