Almost every sinful action ever committed can be traced back to a selfish motive. It is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves. — Stephen Kendrick
Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our good qualities, and to overlook or extenuate our defects. — William Wilberforce
Selfishness is never so exquisitely selfish as when it is on its knees. ... Self turns what would otherwise be a pure and powerful prayer into a weak and ineffective one. — Aiden Wilson Tozer
A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor's. — Richard Whately
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. — Daniel Smith
It's also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I've been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That's why we're here, after all, to help others. — Carol Burnett
Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and you don't have to sacrifice. — Herbie Mann
It is in fact the height of selfishness to merely consume what others create and to retreat into a shell of limited goals and immediate pleasures. — Robert Greene
No universal selfishness can bring social good to all. — W. E. B. Du Bois
Intensely selfish people are always very decided as to what they wish. They do not waste their energies in considering the good of others. — Ouida
Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles. — Harry S. Truman
Selflessness is like waiting in a hospital
In a badly-fitting suit on a cold wet morning.
Selfishness is like listening to good jazz
With drinks for further orders and a huge fire. — Philip Larkin
One ungrateful man does an injury to all who stand in need of aid. — Publilius Syrus
Being stubborn has helped, being selfish is not a bad thing. — Herbie Mann
Everyone makes a greater effort to hurt other people than to help himself. — Alexis Carrel
Sometimes there is no next time, no time-outs, no second chances. Sometimes it's now or never.
How To Be Selfish Quotes
Everywhere I've been, I've been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It's not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It's just how I am. — LeBron James
I had to give him props, but how annoying of him to be a hero when I was trying so hard to dislike him. It was downright selfish. — James Patterson
To join two things together there must be nothing between them or there cannot be a perfect fusion. Now realize that this is how God wants our soul to be, without any selfish love of ourselves or of others in between, just as God loves us without anything in between. — St. Catherine of Siena
Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity.
Your “why” should be centered around yourself. If you’re not taken care of, how do you ever expect to take care of others? — Isaac Mashman
How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it. — Adam Smith
True love is not the helpless desire to possess the cherished object of one's fervent affection; true love is the disciplined generosity we require of ourselves for the sake of another when we would rather be selfish; that, at least, is how I have taught myself to love my wife. — Stephen L. Carter
There are seven days in the week and someday isn't one of them.
The opportunity to love a dog and to treat it with kindness is an opportunity for a lost and selfish heart to be redeemed. They are powerless and innocent, and it is how we treat the humblest among us that surely determines the fate of our souls — Dean Koontz
We seldom stop to think how many people's lives are entwined with our own. It is a form of selfishness to imagine that every individual can operate on his own or can pull out of the general stream and not be missed. — Ivy Baker Priest
Alas! how many souls there are full of self, and yet desirous of doing good and serving God, but in such a way as to suit themselves; who desire to impose rules upon God as to His manner of drawing them to Himself. They want to serve and possess Him, but they are not willing to be possessed by Him. — Francois FeNelon
In order to help usher in the golden age we must see the good in people. We must know it is there, no matter how deeply it may be buried. Yes, apathy is there and selfishness is there - but good is there also. It is not through judgment that the good can be reached, but through love and faith. — Peace Pilgrim
Selfishness Quotes
Much as we might wish to believe otherwise, universal love and the welfare of the species as a whole are concepts which simply do not make evolutionary sense. — Richard Dawkins
We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests. — Franklin D. Roosevelt
I'm just the mere shadow of my former selfishness. I crave the silhouette of your kiss. — Elvis Costello
Speak with honesty, think with sincerity, act with integrity.
True happiness comes from having a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved by cultivating altruism, love and compassion, and by eliminating anger, selfishness and greed. — Dalai Lama
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. — Mother Teresa
Millennials are often portrayed as apathetic, disinterested, tuned out and selfish. None of those adjectives describe the Millennials I've been privileged to meet and work with. — Chelsea Clinton
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
Any opposition not based on rationalism or science or experience will one day or other, reveal the fraud, selfishness, lies and conspiracies. — Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that. — Mother Teresa
Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance. — Theodore Roosevelt
When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. — Thomas Sowell
Unselfish Acts Quotes
A Christian reveals true humility by showing the gentleness of Christ, by being always ready to help others, by speaking kind words and performing unselfish acts, which elevate and ennoble the most sacred message that has come to our world. — Ellen G. White
The record of a generous life runs like a vine around the memory of our dead, and every sweet unselfish act is now a perfumed flower. — Robert Green Ingersoll
Almost every day brings opportunities to perform unselfish acts for others. Such acts are unlimited and can be as simple as a kind word, a helping hand, or a gracious smile. — James E. Faust
We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Basketball, more than any other sport, is a team game...about the thousands of small, unselfish acts, the sacrifices on the part of the players that result in team building. — Dean Smith
The greatness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts. — Gordon B. Hinckley
When all is said and done, the unselfish acts of what we have done without asking for anything in return, will have said it all. — Brian Jett
Kindness is not a business. True kindness expects nothing in return and should never act with conditions.
Much of our love is confined to mere lip service and dreams of good deeds accomplished, but true love must be expressed in unselfish acts of kindness that bring others closer to our Heavenly Father. — Jack H. Goaslind
I don't think people who have children are acting selfishly or unselfishly. Having a child who'll be loved, to parents who love each other, is the important thing. — Terry Jones
A truly unselfish act is not mine, but God's. It cannot be obstructed. Only for my own plans, my own wishes to study, to work, to rest, eat, or do a service to my fellowman- can some external circumstance "get in the way," and then I am grieved. — Tito Colliander
Kindness isn't sacrifice so much as it is being considerate for the feelings of others, sharing happiness, the unselfish thought, the spontaneous and friendly act, forgetfulness of our own present interests. — Carl Holmes
Selfish Quotes
It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes. — Andrew Jackson
We all should rise, above the clouds of ignorance, narrowness, and selfishness. — Booker T. Washington
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. — Marcus Aurelius
If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.
If you don't like me, remember it's mind over matter.
I don't mind, and you don't matter. — Dr. Seuss
We are all making a crown for Jesus out of these daily lives of ours, either a crown of golden, divine love, studded with gems of sacrifice and adoration, or a thorny crown, filled with the cruel briars of unbelief, or selfishness, and sin. — Aimee Semple McPherson
Cultivate peace first in the garden of your heart by removing the weeds of lust, hatred, greed, selfishness, and jealousy. Then only you can manifest it externally. Then only, those who come in contact with you, will be benefited by your vibrations of peace and harmony. — Sivananda
Dream Big. Start small. Act now.
Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. — Corrie Ten Boom
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. — Swami Vivekananda
Leadership means firmness, not harshness or bullying; understanding, not weakness; justice, not irresponsible freedom; humaneness, not intolerance; generosity, not selfishness; pride, not egotism. — Omar N. Bradley
I got a dream that's worth more than my reality. — Big Sean
All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive to the real values of life. The very striving and hard work that we so constantly try to avoid is the major building block in the person we are today. — Ralph Ransom
Carry out a randon act of kindness, with no expectations of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.
I was a personality before I became a person - I am simple, complex, generous, selfish, unattractive, beautiful, lazy and driven. — Barbra Streisand
Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give and nobody will care for you. — Karl Lagerfeld
I want to live in a world where every person gives far more than they take. — Markiplier
Act as if it were impossible to fail.
I know that sounds selfish, but you have to look at what it's doing to you personally - are you frustrated because of the way people perceive you, or are you happy enough about the things you've realized about yourself that you can tolerate the way people perceive you? — Shannon Hoon
Scientists have discovered that the small, brave act of cooperating with another person, of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity over selfishness, makes the brain light up with quiet joy. — Natalie Angier
Even at a large corporation, you’re essentially the only person who looks out for your own best interests. — Paul Jarvis
Young women especially have something invested in being nice people, and it's only when you have children that you realize you're not a nice person at all, but generally a selfish bully. — Marjorie Holmes
Being Selfish Quotes
It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a 'higher standard of living than any have ever known.' It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary and henceforth unrationalizable as mandated by survival. — Richard Buckminster Fuller
Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see - Egoism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping and Slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then will be ready to fight the enemy you can see. — Al-Ghazali
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. — Woodrow Wilson
Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire ever burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love that fills my being. — St. Catherine of Siena
Boys, be ambitious. Be ambitious not for money, not for selfish aggrandizement, not for the evanescent thing which men call fame. Be ambitious for the attainment of all that a man can be. — William Clark
People are generally irrational, unreasonable and selfish. They deserve to be loved, anyway. — Mother Teresa
Every day, for at least fifteen minutes, be selfish, and enjoy some time for you. — Rangan Chatterjee
Go on bravely. Do not expect success in a day or a year. Always hold on to the highest. Be steady. Avoid jealousy and selfishness. Be obedient and eternally faithful to the cause of truth, humanity, and your country, and you will move the world. — Swami Vivekananda
Most men worry about their own bellies and other people's souls, when we all ought to be worried about our own souls and other people's bellies. — Yisroel Salanter
It's good to be selfish. But not so self-centered that you never listen to other people. Hugh Hefner Legacy — Hugh Hefner
Not Selfish Quotes
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed. — Mahatma Gandhi
Yet one more item is needed to complete success, and that is the rendering of service to others in the community. Without this the mere satisfaction of selfish desire does not reach the top notch. — Robert Baden-Powell
It is just as foolish to complain that people are selfish and treacherous as it is to complain that the magnetic field does not increase unless the electric field has a curl. Both are laws of nature. — John Von Neumann
I feel now, that Arabia could easily be evangelized within the next thirty years if it were not for the wicked selfishness of Christians. — Samuel Marinus Zwemer
Silence...leads us to make a gift of self rather than a selfishness that has been gift-wrapped ...Silence does not mean running away but rather recollecting ourselves in the open space of God. — Madeleine Delbrel
A red rose is not selfish because it wants to be a red rose. It would be horribly selfish if it wanted all the other flowers in the garden to be both red and roses. — Oscar Wilde
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. — Mahatma Gandhi
The greatest acts of service come from a place of total selflessness, where you’re not doing it because you have to, but because you want to. — Russell Brunson
Once the process [of conversion] is begun and continues...you are continually turning inward toward God and away from your own egocentricity...you have to see this selfish side of yourself in order to turn away from it. I measure God by everything I am not. I begin with that. — Flannery O'Connor
If I had my way, I would not want influence over anyone but my little family. — Enoch Adeboye
Selfish People Quotes
Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves. — Gordon B. Hinckley
The great danger for family life, in the midst of any society whose idols are pleasure, comfort and independence, lies in the fact that people close their hearts and become selfish. — Pope John Paul II
All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction. — Dalai Lama
People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. — Mother Teresa
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. — Mother Teresa
It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity. — Richard Yates
Shortsighted things that people sometimes do for their individual self-interest don’t tend to work out well in the long run. — Edward O. Thorp
I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves. — John Wayne
Sympathizing and selfish people are alike, both given to tears. — Leigh Hunt
Our state is in crisis. Our people are hurting. Now is the time when we all must resist the traditional, selfish call to protect your own turf at the cost of our state. It is time to leave the corner, join the sacrifice, come to the center of the room and be part of the solution. — Chris Christie
Human Selfishness Quotes
Ordinary love is selfish, darkly rooted in desires and satisfactions. Divine love is without condition, without boundary, without change. The flux of the human heart is gone forever at the transfixing touch of pure love. — Sri Yukteswar Giri
Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals. — E. O. Wilson
Let us have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in consideration of language, nationality, or religion. — John Amos Comenius
An institution or reform movement that is not selfish, must originate in the recognition of some evil that is adding to the sum of human suffering, or diminishing the sum of happiness. — Clara Barton
Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. — Alveda King
Our minds can go no further. The human imagination is capable of no further expression of beauty than the carved owl of Athene, the archaic, marble serpent, the arrogant selfish head of the Acropolis Apollo. — Hilda Doolittle
I would have been a terrible mother because I'm basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off and having children. — Katharine Hepburn
If it’s you and me against the world, then so be it. — Jay-Z
The common trait of all evil is nothing other than egoism... Basically all human evil comes from what we call the selfishness. — Rudolf Steiner
The major threats to our survival no longer stem from nature without but from our own human nature within. It is our carelessness, our hostilities, our selfishness and pride and willful ignorance that endanger the world. — M. Scott Peck
Selfish Love Quotes
Self-care is never a selfish act - it is only good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. — Parker J. Palmer
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. — Mao Zedong
I am in love with girls that are bad and naughty and badass, and a little selfish, but I like to watch from a respectful distance! — Dreama Walker
If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it. — Stephen Colbert
Sure, I have friends, plenty of friends, and they all come around wantin' to borrow money. I've always been generous with my friends and family, with money, but selfish with the important stuff like love. — Richard Pryor
Love is the most selfish of all the passions. — Alexandre Dumas
Every day I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence that will risk nothing and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well. — Mary Cholmondeley
Erotic or sexual love can truly be love if it is not selfishly sexual or lustful. — Mortimer Adler
The things you love about others are the things you love about yourself. The things you hate about others are the things you cannot see in yourself. — Brianna Wiest
Every moral act of love, of mercy, and of sacrifice brings to pass the end of the world where hatred, cruelty, and selfishness reign supreme. — Nikolai Berdyaev
Every selfish, sinful, or indulgent choice I make today is sowing a seed that will reap a multiplied harvest. And every act of obedience is a seed that will produce a multiplied harvest of blessing in my life and in the lives of those I love. — Nancy Leigh DeMoss
To act out of desperation is to act out of instinct. To let oneself get to that point however, is to ignore self-preservation. — Isaac Mashman
It's a mistake to expect benefits from any pose. Expectations make you restless because if you fail to get what you expect, you feel miserable. Yoga practice is an act of adoration to the Lord. You do it because it has to be done. If you have this mental attitude, your selfishness disappears and the benefits come. — Dharma Mittra
Issue a blanket pardon. Forgive everyone who has ever hurt you in any way. Forgiveness is a perfectly selfish act. It sets you free from the past. — Brian Tracy
You can't expect to draw people into your life who are kind, confident, and generous if you're thinking and acting in cruel, weak, and selfish ways. You must be what it is that you're seeking- that is, you need to put forth what you want to attract. — Wayne Dyer
We are close to God when we are close to people. If we think of God as something in favor of the betterment of human beings, and if we act in a way that brings about that betterment-if we do not cling to riches, selfishness, or greed-then I believe we are getting closer to God. — Daniel Ortega
Kindly politeness is the slow fruit of advanced reflection; it is a sort of humanity and kindliness applied to small acts and every day discourse: it bids man soften towards others, and forget himself for the sake of others: it constrains genuine nature, which is selfish and gross. — Hippolyte Taine
If we knew that god exists, such knowledge would make morality impossible. For, if we acted morally from fear or fright, or confident of a reward, then this would not be moral. It would be enlightened selfishness. — Immanuel Kant
Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got. — Steven Pressfield
Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives. — Lawana Blackwell
In recent years, many seem to have spent their lives protesting. Perhaps they have felt to do this because they have felt repressed or wished to bring about change or have acted out of selfish reasons, thinking that if they tore the house down they might end up with a shingle. — James E. Faust
Maybe coming clean is the ultimate selfish act. A way to absolve yourself by hurting someone who doesn't deserve to be hurt. — Cindy Chupack
You have been called selfish for the courage of acting on your own judgement and bearing sole responsibility for your own life. You have been called arrogant for your independent mind. You have been called cruel for your unyielding integrity. You have been calle anti social for the vision that made you venture upon undiscovered roads. — Ayn Rand
Every major horror of history was committed in the name of an altruistic motive. Has any act of selfishness ever equalled the carnage perpetrated by disciples of altruism. — Ayn Rand
Getting enough of what you want without depriving anyone else is the ultimate act of selfishness and sanity. — Joy Browne
Christians, like everyone else, are prone to be selfish and scared, and wanting others to think well of them. So, although we possess what one part of us knows is the greatest news in the world, we don't act as though it is. Consequently, we share the gospel less than we should. — Mark Dever
Getting up for sadhana in the morning is a totally selfish act - for personal strength, for personal intuition, for personal sharpness, for personal discipline, and overall for absolute personal prosperity. — Harbhajan Singh Yogi
The Clinton paradox: How could a president so intelligent, so compassionate, so public-spirited and so conscious of his place in history act in such a stupid, selfish and self-destructive manner? — George Stephanopoulos
The craziest, most selfish act is to commit suicide. When you kill yourself, you kill others. — Jenny Joseph
Since all motives at bottom are selfish and ignoble, we may judge acts and qualities only be their effects. — H. P. Lovecraft
My passion for gardening may strike some as selfish, or merely an act of resignation in the face of overwhelming problems that beset the world. It is neither. I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in Candide: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society. — Andrew Weil
I didn't have any concept of Trainspotting being published. It was a selfish act. I did it for myself. — Irvine Welsh
I played Lucifer once, which is sort of a difficult character to research. I thought to myself, "We all have the potential to be selfish, to be cruel - at least to think evil thoughts, even if we don't ever act out on them. Even if we don't ever think we behave badly, we probably do more than we realize." — Viggo Mortensen
It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so. — Spencer W. Kimball
The act of love . . . is a confession. Selfishness screams aloud, vanity shows off, or else true generosity reveals itself. — Albert Camus
Deeds that seemed unimportant at the time would prove to have been momentous; a tiny act of selfishness and unkindness or, conversely, an unconsidered act of generosity would become the measure of a human life. — Karen Armstrong
Be incredibly, ruthlessly selfish with your equity. — Douglas Leone
That's where you can find things and modulate your performance and give the other actors something fresh to respond to. We've probably all worked with actors who when it's suddenly your close up, they get sleepy. I don't like that. It's selfish acting, and I won't tolerate it. — Denzel Washington
What the writers do, and we hopefully can bring to life, is that they present characters who, on the surface, aren't always heroic and their acts aren't always devoid of selfishness. — Charlie Cox
Acting is not terribly important work, and I have always felt a bit of guilt about pursuing something that is so selfish. I love doing it, but it is never something that feels like it's going to change or save the world. — Jason Alexander
Nobody acts purely selfishly. — Rose McIver
See shades of grey... Act anyway — Robert Meeropol
The traveler may feel assured, he will meet with no difficulties or dangers, excepting in rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand anticipates. In a moral point of view, the effect ought to be, to teach him good-humored patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself, and of making the best of every occurrence. — Charles Darwin
Those who are esteemed umpires of taste, are often persons who have acquired some knowledge of admired pictures or sculptures, andhave an inclination for whatever is elegant; but if you inquire whether they are beautiful souls, and whether their own acts are like fair pictures, you learn that they are selfish and sensual. Their cultivation is local, as if you should rub a log of dry wood in one spot to produce fire, all the rest remaining cold. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Disputants often fare poorly when they each act greedily and deceptively. — Howard Raiffa
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