selfishness

Every noble action is selfish. Some selfish actions are nobler than others. But they are all selfish. And as such there can be no action purely noble anyway. Even the nobility in God's great philosophical intentions is bounded by his vanity.

You can never truly love anyone else until you love yourself.  Until you really love yourself, your love for others is purely selfish.  It is an attempt to fulfill the missing part of you with whatever you enjoy about them.
 
Therefore, I cannot trust others who don't love themselves to truly have my best interests at heart.
 
~Danielle Marie Crume

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.

Even when he is still,
The selfish man is busy.

Even when he is busy,
The selfless man is still.

There is a circle here that links us to one another: we each want to be happy; the social feeling of love is one of our greatest sources of happiness; and love entails that we be concerned for the happiness of others. We discover that we can be selfish together.

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

He said "What did fame ever do for me? I'm still broke!" I said "What did your fame ever do for anyone else?"

Give up your selfishness, and you shall find peace; like water mingling with water, you shall merge in absorption.

This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances.

… 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.