Selfish quotes

Selfish

1.3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

1.3K quotes
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw Playwright, Critic

"This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

#Selfish #True Joy #Long Read quote
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda Spiritual Leader, Philosopher

"All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love's sake, because it is the only law of life, just as you breathe to live."

#Love #Inspiring #Selfish Read quote
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Spiritual Leader

"There are three kinds of love; unselfish, mutual, and selfish. The unselfish love is of the highest kind; The lover only minds the welfare of the beloved and does not care for his own sufferings. In mutual love the lover not only wants the happiness of his beloved; but has an eye towards his own happiness also. It is middling. The selfish love is the lowest. It only looks towards its own happiness, no matter whether the beloved suffers weal or woe."

#Selfish #Eye #Love Is Read quote
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow Psychologist

"There are no perfect human beings! Persons can be found who are good, very good indeed, in fact, great. There do in fact exist creators, seers, sages, saints, shakers, and movers...even if they are uncommon and do not come by the dozen. And yet these very same people can at times be boring, irritating, petulant, selfish, angry, or depressed. To avoid disillusionment with human nature, we must first give up our illusions about it."

#Giving Up #Selfish #Perfect Read quote

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Browse quotes that often appear alongside selfish — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.

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Selfish quotes (page 1 of 65)

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Marcus Aurelius Philosopher, Emperor
Selfish

"I'm going to be meeting with people today who talk too much - people who are selfish, egotistical, ungrateful. But I won't be surprised or disturbed, for I can't imagine a world without such people."

People Selfish Ungrateful
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Dalai Lama Spiritual Leader
Selfish

"Foolish, selfish people are always thinking of themselves and the result is always negative. Wise persons think of others, helping them as much as they can, and the result is happiness. Love and compassion are beneficial both for you and others. Through your kindness to others, your mind and heart will open to peace."

Wise Kindness Selfish
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Woodrow Wilson Politician
Selfish

"The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make."

Political Sacrifice Selfish
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Calvin Coolidge Politician
Selfish

"Unless the people, through unified action, arise and take charge of their government, they will find that their government has taken charge of them. Independence and liberty will be gone, and the general public will find itself in a condition of servitude to an aggregation of organized and selfish interest."

Government Taken Selfish
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Simone de Beauvoir Philosopher, Writer
Selfish

"I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be a man, to have many friends and to have loneliness, to work much and write good books, to travel and enjoy myself, to be selfish and to be unselfish… You see, it is difficult to get all which I want. And then when I do not succeed I get mad with anger."

Work Loneliness Selfish
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John Steinbeck Novelist, Journalist
Selfish

"There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you — of kindness and consideration and respect — not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had."

Mean Kindness Selfish
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Jerry Lewis Comedian, Actor, Singer
Selfish

"I am probably the most selfish man you will ever meet in your life. No one gets the satisfaction or the joy that I get out of seeing kids realize there is hope."

Kids Selfish Hope
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Abraham Lincoln Political Leader
Selfish

"The money power preys on the nation in times of peace, and conspires against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes."

Money Adversity Selfish
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Walter Russell Artist, Author, Philosopher
Selfish

"War, and more wars, are helping Government to siphon the earnings of its people into its treasury for its own selfish purpose, which is to rule the people for the Government instead of for the purpose of serving the people. When will the people see that the very taxes they pay are building a power to be used against them?"

War Peace Selfish
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Mahatma Gandhi Political Leader
Selfish

"Good travels at a snail's pace. Those who want to do good are not selfish, they are not in a hurry, they know that to impregnate people with good requires a long time."

People Long Selfish
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Daniel Smith Artist
Selfish

"There are many selfish people who are extremely original, then they take those pure ideas and use them to raise themselves up, that is an insincere move."

Ideas Moving Selfish
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