Competition quotes
1.2K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
"There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women."
"Extreme taxation, excessive controls, oppressive government competition with business, frustrated minorities and forgotten Americans are not the products of free enterprise. They are the residue of centralized bureaucracy, of government by a self-anointed elite."
"I am not in competition with anyone but myself. My goal is to improve myself continuously."
"The mere possession of monopoly power, and the concomitant charging of monopoly prices, is not only not unlawful, it is an important element of the free-market system. The opportunity to charge monopoly prices - at least for a short period - is what attracts 'business acumen' in the first place; it induces risk taking that produces innovation and economic growth."
"The world is so full of people who are grabbing and self-seeking. So the rare individual who unselfishly tries to serve others has an enormous advantage. He has little competition."
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside competition — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"Take someone who doesn't keep score, who's not looking to be richer, or afraid of losing, who has not the slightest interest even in his own personality: he's free."
"The only competition that matters is the one that takes place within yourself."
"The greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been."
"Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off."
"You can't look at the competition and say you're going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you're going to do it differently."
"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."
"The selection of a Republican candidate for the presidency of this globalized and expansive empire is - and I mean this seriously - the greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been."
"Poverty - the greatest cause of human suffering on the planet - is itself exacerbated by conflict, competition for resources, injustice, even the global downturn and climate change. Diseases like AIDS, TB and malaria cannot be tackled without adequate resources. So you see everything is connected. In order to address any major cause of human suffering, we have to work together across many fronts."
"Affirmative action was designed to keep women and minorities in competition with each other to distract us while white dudes inject AIDS into our chicken nuggets."
"Inside the Great Mystery that is, we don't really own anything. What is this competition we feel then, before we go, one at a time, through the same gate?"
"I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated"
"My best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet."
"In training, you listen to your body. In competition, you tell your body to shut up."
"The rare individuals who unselfishly try to serve others have an enormous advantage-they have little competition."
"Somebody will always break your records. It is how you live that counts."
"Well, nine times out of ten when you have 2 or 3 stars in a household you have an unfortunate amount of competition that's not necessarily a healthy competition."
"Terror has its inspiration, as well as competition."
"People seem good while they are oppressed, but they only wish to become oppressors in their turn: life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim."
"That's Denver Beck, isn't it? Paul mentioned him. What's he like?" Ori asked. "Oh, where do I start? Beck's mouthy and he lives to tell me what to do." In short, he's so not you. "Why do you want to know?" A glimmer appeared in Ori's dark eyes. "Just scoping out the competition."
"Competition is the death of art."
