If there’s one thing entrepreneurs are good at, it’s being selfish. We’re always looking out for ourselves and our businesses, because that’s what we need to do in order to be successful. And while being selfish can sometimes be seen as a bad thing, there are actually some benefits to it.

The best selfish quotes

1. What shall it profit a male if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his immortal genes? — Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

2. Marriage is just an elaborate game that allows two selfish people to periodically feel that they’re not. — Paul Reiser

3. While selfishness joins hands with no one of the virtues, benevolence is allied to them all. — Oliver Goldsmith

4. There is no burden in love, because love is always selfish — Novellina A., Fantasy

5. Corrupt, stupid grasping functionaries will make at least as big a muddle of socialism as stupid, selfish and acquisitive employers can make of capitalism. — Walter Lippmann

6. That which is selfish is immoral, and that which is unselfish is moral. — Swami Vivekananda

7. The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

8. Suicide to them is an act of selfishness. Someone who is truly selfless does not think of himself often enough to desire death. — Veronica Roth

9. Anyone could father a child. But a good parent puts his child’s needs before his own. A parent should be selfless not selfish. — Penelope Ward, Playboy Pilot

10. When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone. — Tennessee Williams

11. Sometimes in life, you have to make a selfish decision and do what’s best for you. — Saquon Barkley

12. But selfish isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It only means you take care of yourself and you have to do that to be able to take care of others. — Tera Lynn Childs, Sweet Shadows

13. When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone. — Tennessee Williams

14. What’s the matter with the world? Why, there ain’t nothing but one word wrong with everyone of us, and that’s selfishness. — Will Rogers

15. Being selfish only benefits a few. Considering others benefits all of mankind. — Terraine Francois

16. In proportion as a man is selfish, so far has he receded from the motive which constitutes virtue. — Percy Bysshe Shelley

17. I am always reading immoral books on the sly, and then selfishly trying to prevent other people from having the same wicked good time. — Mark Twain

18. I suspect that much of our praying to be used is selfish, and underneath it is the sneaking desire to make our mark and be recognized. — Vance Havner

19. If you think the reason you exist or go to school is just to satisfy your selfish ambitions, then you are of all men most miserable — Topsy Gift

20. What a selfish boy you are. You wished for the world but all you received were the skies. — F.K. Preston

21. Turkey, Japan do great work because they can keep under control their little personal selfishness, egoism, jealousy, etc. when they get down to work. — Sri Aurobindo

22. You can be a really nasty, selfish little jerk when you’re scared enough. I was scared enough. — Robin McKinley, Sunshine

23. No single bad person regards themselves as a bad person. — Mokokoma Mokhonoana, The Selfish Genie: A Satirical Essay on Altruism

24. I gave too much to people…. So much selfish people in life. — Victoria Bando

25. Selfishness is easy to find. Selflessness is a much rarer beast. — Stewart Stafford

26. My feelings about my mortality are less selfish than they used to be. I used to affect a cavalier attitude to death now I see it from my son’s perspective. — Rufus Sewell

27. Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses. — Reinhold Niebuhr

28. Sure love is cruel and selfish and totally obtuse––at least, blinded by the light, young love is. — William Carlos Williams

29. There can be no Good Will. Will is always Evil; it is persecution to others or selfishness. — William Blake

30. Selfishness is the unwillingness to give up your soul for the rehabilitation of your future. — Michael Bassey Johnson, Classic Quotations From The Otherworlds

31. Selfish Apologies Aren’t Apologies at All — Miles Anthony Smith, Why Leadership Sucks™ Fundamentals of Level 5 Leadership and Servant Leadership

32. Are you willing to nourish your heart with love — then your selfishness will starve to death.

33. The true essence of greatness is in finding self in selfishness — Mayur Ramgir

34. A rich life is lived from a giving heart not a selfish mind. — Rasheed Ogunlaru

35. …and as a result yet today we are unable to distinguish between sympathy and selfishness. — M.H. Rakib, The Cavalier

36. I’m not a person or a selfish player, but we have to move the ball more, and we have to look further the team game, because we have enough talent to use different players. — Pau Gasol

37. To pursue selfish personal ideas is not wise enough — Sunday Adelaja

38. All life evolves by the differential survival of replicating entities — Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene

39. I am confident that nobody… will accuse me of selfishness if I ask to spend time, while I am still in good health, with my family, my friends and also with myself. — Nelson Mandela

40. Be selfish — love yourself before loving anyone else.

41. The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

42. Twin–sister of Religion, Selfishness. — P B Shelley

43. 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, Wanda, Countess von Szalras.

44. Erotic or sexual love can truly be love if it is not selfishly sexual or lustful. — Mortimer Adler

45. Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about me. — Miguel Angel Ruiz

46. I’ve been a pretty selfish mom and a very unselfish athlete for about three years now and it’s time to put my family first. It’s probably time to move on. — Melanie Roach

47. The truth is, I think we are a self–less society, not a selfish society. Because we’re so busy now. — Phil McGraw

48. You can be a really nasty, selfish little jerk when you’re scared enough. I was scared enough. — Robin McKinley, Sunshine

49. The hardest work you and I will ever do is to put off our selfishness. It is heavy lifting! — Neal A. Maxwell

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

Conclusion

Selfishness can be a great motivator, but it can also be a roadblock to personal growth and development. Taking a step back and focusing on the needs of others can be beneficial to all. As Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Taking the time to serve others and put their needs before your own can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling life.