Selfish Quotes - Page 31

• Rather than assume that the wealthy are a monolithic, selfish and unfeeling lot who must be subjugated by the force of the state, set a tone that encourages people of good will to meet in the middle.

  Leon G. Cooperman

  People, Tone, Assuming

  "Investor Leon Cooperman Sends Monster, Scathing Letter To Obama" by Lisa Du, www.businessinsider.com. November 29, 2011.

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• The malignity that never forgets or forgives is found only in base and ignoble natures, whose aims are selfish, and whose means are indirect, cowardly, and treacherous.

  George Stillman Hillard

  Mean, Forgiving, Never Forget

  George Stillman Hillard “Life and Campaigns of George B. McClellan, Major-General, U. S. Army”, Charles River Editors

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• ...the crimes of violence committed for selfish, personal motives are historically insignificant compared to those committed ad majorem gloriam Dei, out of a self-sacrificing devotion to the flag, a leader, a religeous faith or political conviction.

  Arthur Koestler

  Sacrifice, Leader, Political

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• 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

  Prayer, Powerful, Knees

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• I would like to appeal to all those in whose hands the future of mankind lies, to use their power not to destroy or kill, nor to create suffering in a grasping search for selfish objectives, but to help alleviate the plight of the needy; to aim at justice and freedom for the individual.

  Poul Hartling

  Lying, Future, Hands

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• I want to say to each of you, simply, and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.

  Tiger Woods

  Sorry, Apology, Want

  "Tiger Woods Mea Culpa, Media Reaction Examined". "All Things Considered" with Robert Siegel, www.npr.org. February 19, 2010.

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• Love is an expression and assertion of self-esteem, a response to one's own values in the person of another. One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the person one loves. It is one's own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks, earns, and derives from love.

  Ayn Rand

  Love, Self Esteem, Expression

  Ayn Rand (1964). “The Virtue of Selfishness”, p.41, Penguin

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• Human beings are not intrinsically selfish, which isolates us from others. We are essentially social animals who depend on others to meet our needs. We achieve happiness, prosperity and progress through social interaction. Therefore, having a kind and helpful attitude contributes to our own and others' happiness.

  Dalai Lama

  Happiness, Buddhist, Attitude

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• 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.

  Jerry Lewis

  Hope, Kids, Men

  "Emmy honors Jerry Lewis for charity work". www.today.com. September 12, 2005.

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• So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish, shrewd plodders, full of distrust and sneers.

  W. E. B. Du Bois

  Learning, Watches, Purpose

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• Tis rushing now adown the spout,
  And gushing out below,
  Half frantic in its joyousness,
  And wild in eager flow.
  The earth is dried and parched with heat,
  And it hath long'd to be
  Released from out the selfish cloud,
  To cool the thirsty tree.

  Elizabeth Oakes Smith

  Rain, Clouds, Rivers

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• The Bible says somewhere that we are desperately selfish. I think we would have discovered that fact without the Bible.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Religious, Thinking, Facts

  Abraham Lincoln, Terence Ball (2013). “Lincoln: Political Writings and Speeches”, p.80, Cambridge University Press

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• Selfishness comes from poverty in the heart, from the belief that love is not abundant.

  Miguel Angel Ruiz

  Heart, Love Is, Poverty

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• ...Good leaders wait to be called and they give up their power when they are no longer needed. Selfish men and fools put themselves first and keep their power until someone throws them out. It is no good to have a way where selfish men and fools fight with each other to be leaders, while the good ones watch.

  Kent Nerburn

  Giving Up, Fighting, Men

  Kent Nerburn (2010). “Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder”, p.204, New World Library

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• Anybody who's ever mattered, anybody who's ever been happy, anybody who's ever given any gift into the world has been a divinely selfish soul, living for his own best interest. No exceptions.

  Richard Bach

  Generosity, Soul, World

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• 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.

  Abraham Maslow

  Giving Up, Perfect, People

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• Business demands faith, compels earnestness, requires courage, is honestly selfish, is penalized for mistakes, and is the essence of life.

  William Feather

  Business, Mistake, Essence

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• Do not be too quick to condemn the man who no longer believes in God: for it is perhaps your own coldness and avarice and mediocrity and materialism and selfishness that have chilled his faith.

  Thomas Merton

  Believe, Men, Mediocrity

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• Life is given for wisdom, and yet we are not wise; for goodness, and we are not good; for overcoming evil, and evil remains; for patience and sympathy and love, and yet we are fretful and hard and weak and selfish. We are keyed not to attainment, but to the struggle toward it.

  Thornton T. Munger

  Life, Wise, Struggle

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• I heard of somebody once who said he was interested in doing the greatest amount of good for the greatest number, and that the greatest number was number one. That was himself. That may sound like a little bit of selfishness, but if that is selfishness, at least it is a very intelligent selfishness. Everyone has a right to be interested in himself, and I am confident that God wants us to be interested in ourselves first; that is, the first soul that anyone should bring to God should be his own soul.

  Sterling W Sill

  Intelligent, Numbers, Soul

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• Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live. And unselfishness is letting other people's lives alone, not interfering with them. Selfishness always aims at uniformity of type. Unselfishness recognizes infinite variety of type as a delightful thing, accepts it, acquiesces in it, enjoys it.

  Oscar Wilde

  People, Wish, Asking

  Oscar Wilde (1969). “The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde”, p.285, University of Chicago Press

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• Sin always finds it's root in our own selfish desires and self-gratification.

  Joseph Campbell

  Roots, Desire, Sin

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• I was given such a great gift. It's a miracle that never stops amazing me and reminding me to give thanks, every day. Having a wife and daughter gives me a lot more purpose. I was much more selfish before, but now I think about what kind of role model I'll be. I just want to be a better man.

  Jake Owen

  Daughter, Mother, Men

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• If I love myself I will express that love in my interactions with you, and then I am being impeccable with the word, because that action will produce a like reaction. If I love you, then you will love me. If I insult you, you will insult me. If I have gratitude for you , you will have gratitude for me. If I'm selfish with you, you will be selfish with me.

  Miguel Angel Ruiz

  Motivational, Gratitude, Integrity

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• In much of today's popular culture, the virtues of forgiveness and kindness are belittled, while ridicule, anger, and harsh criticism are encouraged. Let us not hurt the ones we love the most by selfish criticism!

  David E. Sorensen

  Hurt, Kindness, Criticism

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