Self Interest Quotes

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  It has always seemed strange to me... the things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.

  John Steinbeck

  Love, Wisdom, Appreciation

  John Steinbeck (1963). “The short novels of John Steinbeck: Tortilla Flat, The red pony, Of mice and men, The moon is down, Cannery Row, The pearl”

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• The virtues are lost in self-interest as rivers are lost in the sea.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Ocean, Self, Sea

  18 Copy quote

• Recognize and respect mutual self-interests, then build creative collaborations to serve them.

  Warren G. Bennis

  Creative Collaboration, Self, Interest

  Source: bobmorris.biz

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• A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights. Men are moved by only two mechanisms: fear and self-interest. Victory belongs to the most persevering.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Fighting, Men, Rights

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• We are driven by self-interest, it’s necessary to survive. But we need wise self-interest that is generous and co-operative, taking others’ interests into account. Co-operation comes from friendship, friendship comes from trust, and trust comes from kind-heartedness. Once you have a genuine sense of concern for others, there’s no room for cheating, bullying or exploitation.

  Dalai Lama

  Wise, Bullying, Cheating

  20 Copy quote

• Self-interest makes some people blind, and others sharp-sighted.

  Francois de La Rochefoucauld

  Self, People, Blind

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• Self-interest is the enemy of all true affection.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Love, Self, Enemy

  30 Copy quote

• Nothing's done well when it's done out of self-interest.

  Therese of Lisieux

  Self, Done, Interest

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• The cause of violence is not ignorance. It is self-interest. Only reverance can restrain violence - reverance for human life and the environment.

  William Sloane Coffin

  Ignorance, Self, Violence

  63 Copy quote

• Individuals motivated by self-interest, self-indulgence, and a false sense of self-sufficiency pursue selfish ambition for the purpose of self-glorification.

  C. J. Mahaney

  Selfish, Ambition, Purpose

  C.J. Mahaney (2008). “Humility: True Greatness”, p.27, Multnomah

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• Self interest determines loyalty or betrayal.

  James Cook

  Loyalty, Betrayal, Self

  15 Copy quote

• Will springs from the two elements of moral sense and self-interest.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Motivational, Spring, Self

  Abraham Lincoln (2008). “The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln”, p.409, Wildside Press LLC

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• Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Leadership, Fear, Men

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• We have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Business, Self, Greed

  Second Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1937

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• Self-interest is not myopic selfishness. It is whatever it is that interests the participants, whatever they value, whatever goals they pursue. The scientist seeking to advance the frontiers of his discipline, the missionary seeking to convert infidels to the true faith, the philanthropist seeking to bring comfort to the needy - all are pursuing their interests, as they see them, as they judge them by their own values.

  Milton Friedman

  Self, Discipline, Goal

  Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman (1990). “Free to Choose: A Personal Statement”, p.45, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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• It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

  Adam Smith

  Business, Invisible Hand, Government

  An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations vol. 1, bk. 1, ch. 2 (1776)

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• There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth.

  Chanakya

  Friendship, Education, Self

  52 Copy quote

• Self interest feeds more people than self sacrifice.

  James Cook

  Sacrifice, Self, People

  12 Copy quote

• What is the best way to go beyond self-interest and obsession
  with personal demands, needs and disappointments?  
  The answer is: Whatever you do, may it benefit everyone.

  Gurumayi Chidvilasananda

  Disappointment, Self, Needs

  47 Copy quote

• Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.

  Oscar Wilde

  Life, Sad, Beautiful

  Oscar Wilde (2016). “Aphorisms”, p.64, Oscar Wilde

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• Advice from others is always filtered through self interest.

  James Cook

  Self, Advice, Interest

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• I embrace the concept of enlightened self-interest - that in doing something for others, people also reap profound benefits for themselves. It might involve a little bit of sacrifice and discipline, but, and this is so crucial to understand, that participation has given me back so, so much more than I have given it.

  Simon McKeon

  Leadership, Sacrifice, Self

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• If your imagination leads you to understand how quickly people grant your requests when those requests appeal to their self- interest, you can have practically anything you go after.

  Napoleon Hill

  Business, Acceptance, Self

  Napoleon Hill (2008). “The Law of Success: The Master Wealth-Builder's Complete and Original Lesson Plan forAchieving Your Dreams”, p.253, Penguin

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• The theory that everyone acts from self-interest, direct or indirect, is psychologically unsound. . . . Throughout history . . . there have been millions of men and women with some sort of Humanist philosophy who have consciously given up their lives for a social ideal.

  Corliss Lamont

  Philosophy, Men, Self

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• How can a world be good in which Money is the moving power, and Self-interest the guiding star?

  H. Rider Haggard

  Stars, Moving, Self

  H. Rider Haggard (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of H. Rider Haggard (Illustrated)”, p.1688, Delphi Classics

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