--- title: "18 Selfish Life Quotes by 13 authors" description: "Browse 18 Selfish Life quotes by 13 authors. Discover the best Selfish Life sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png" --- > [The only selfish life is a timid one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png) > [“Living a selfish life is a recipe for disaster”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-disaster/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-di_1787775.jpg) > [“To live a selfish life is the fastest track to catastrophe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-track-to-catastrophe/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-tr_864100.jpg) > [“A selfish life isn’t God’s purpose for you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-you/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/sunday-adelaja-35_blessing_a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-y_1318823.jpg) > [I'm a bit selfish and everyone needs to be selfish. Else they will not become anything in their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cassandra/i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to-be-selfish-else-they-will-not/) [Regina Cassandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-cassandra/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/regina-cassandra-6086_anything_i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to_939125.jpg) > [“ការរស់នៅក្នុងភាពអាត្មានិយមគឺជាការរស់នៅបញ្ច្រាសនឹងច្បាប់ធម្មជាតិ។ It is against law of nature to live a selfish life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna-2/it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-selfish-life/) [Khem Veasna ខឹម វាសនា](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna-2/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/khem-veasna-2-78696_law-of-nature_it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-se_1882819.jpg) > [Friends who restrict their friends from being happy in a relationship is utterly selfish. Get on with your own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from-being-happy-in-a-relationship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/anonymous-1_friendship_friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from_2381050.jpg) > [I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life-in-practice-though-not-in/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24f/jane-austen-39_life_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_2829603.jpg) > [You can go through life angry and selfish or you can go through life with a smile and help others. Because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-aaron-mangan/you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfish-or-you-can-go-through-life/) [Timothy Aaron Mangan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-aaron-mangan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/timothy-aaron-mangan-61712_better-life_you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfis_639268.jpg) > [“Don’t be selfish in life; pass the ball. Winners in life’s game are people who demonstrate that they are not greedy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-winners-in-life-s-game-are/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/israelmore-ayivor-79_abundance_don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-w_2207602.jpg) > [I know I have a successful career, a successful life. If I sit and say, 'Look, I have a comfortable life,' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weah/i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-successful-life-if-i-sit-and-say/) [George Weah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-weah/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/george-weah-22492_benefits_i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-succ_1382793.jpg) > [I don't want to eke out my life like a resource in short supply. The only selfish life is a timid one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-resource-in-short-supply-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeanette-winterson-166_identity_i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-r_2710837.png) > [People who think of themselves as tough-minded and realistic, among them influential political leaders and businessmen as well as go-getters and hustlers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough-minded-and-realistic-among/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/s-i-hayakawa-15018_businessman_people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough_287447.jpg) > [“You had once asked me if I was afraid of death. I said I was afraid of not living. I don’t want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of-death-i-said-i-was-afraid-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/jeanette-winterson-166_afraid-of-death_you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of_2090352.png) > [“I'm talking about the cycle of life. I'm talking about finding some alien creature and deciding to marry her and stay with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m-talking-about-finding-some/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/orson-scott-card-134_cycle-of-life_i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m_3219410.png) > [“Birthdays are a time when one stock takes, which means, I suppose, a good spineless mope: I scan my horizon and can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-takes-which-means-i-suppose-a/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/philip-larkin-1822_ambition_birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-take_2656868.jpg) > [“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life-in-practice-though-not-in-2/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/jane-austen-39_children_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_3140294.jpg) > [“He stared to sea. "I gave up all ideas of practicing medicine. In spite of what I have just said about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of-practicing-medicine-in-spite/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/john-fowles-816_five-years_he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of_2608660.png) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-life/#itemlist", "name": "Selfish Life Quotes", "numberOfItems": 18, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only selfish life is a timid one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only selfish life is a timid one.” — Jeanette Winterson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Living a selfish life is a recipe for disaster”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sunday Adelaja" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-disaster/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-di_1787775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-di_1787775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_living-a-selfish-life-is-a-recipe-for-di_1787775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Living a selfish life is a recipe for disaster” — Sunday Adelaja", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To live a selfish life is the fastest track to catastrophe”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sunday Adelaja" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-track-to-catastrophe/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-tr_864100.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-tr_864100.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3c/sunday-adelaja-35_calling_to-live-a-selfish-life-is-the-fastest-tr_864100.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To live a selfish life is the fastest track to catastrophe” — Sunday Adelaja", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A selfish life isn’t God’s purpose for you”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sunday Adelaja" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/sunday-adelaja-35_blessing_a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-y_1318823.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/sunday-adelaja-35_blessing_a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-y_1318823.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/sunday-adelaja-35_blessing_a-selfish-life-isn-t-god-s-purpose-for-y_1318823.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A selfish life isn’t God’s purpose for you” — Sunday Adelaja", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a bit selfish and everyone needs to be selfish. Else they will not become anything in their life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Regina Cassandra" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-cassandra/i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to-be-selfish-else-they-will-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/regina-cassandra-6086_anything_i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to_939125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/regina-cassandra-6086_anything_i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to_939125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/regina-cassandra-6086_anything_i-m-a-bit-selfish-and-everyone-needs-to_939125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a bit selfish and everyone needs to be selfish. Else they will not become anything in their life.” — Regina Cassandra", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ការរស់នៅក្នុងភាពអាត្មានិយមគឺជាការរស់នៅបញ្ច្រាសនឹងច្បាប់ធម្មជាតិ។ It is against law of nature to live a selfish life”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khem Veasna ខឹម វាសនា" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna-2/it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-selfish-life/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/khem-veasna-2-78696_law-of-nature_it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-se_1882819.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/khem-veasna-2-78696_law-of-nature_it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-se_1882819.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/khem-veasna-2-78696_law-of-nature_it-is-against-law-of-nature-to-live-a-se_1882819.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“ការរស់នៅក្នុងភាពអាត្មានិយមគឺជាការរស់នៅបញ្ច្រាសនឹងច្បាប់ធម្មជាតិ។ It is against law of nature to live a…” — Khem Veasna ខឹម វាសនា", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Friends who restrict their friends from being happy in a relationship is utterly selfish. Get on with your own life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from-being-happy-in-a-relationship/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/anonymous-1_friendship_friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from_2381050.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/anonymous-1_friendship_friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from_2381050.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/anonymous-1_friendship_friends-who-restrict-their-friends-from_2381050.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Friends who restrict their friends from being happy in a relationship is utterly selfish. Get on with your…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life-in-practice-though-not-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24f/jane-austen-39_life_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_2829603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24f/jane-austen-39_life_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_2829603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24f/jane-austen-39_life_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_2829603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.” — Jane Austen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can go through life angry and selfish or you can go through life with a smile and help others. Because there is nothing better in life then the smile on the face of someone you helped", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Aaron Mangan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-aaron-mangan/you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfish-or-you-can-go-through-life/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/timothy-aaron-mangan-61712_better-life_you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfis_639268.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/timothy-aaron-mangan-61712_better-life_you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfis_639268.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62b/timothy-aaron-mangan-61712_better-life_you-can-go-through-life-angry-and-selfis_639268.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can go through life angry and selfish or you can go through life with a smile and help others. Because…” — Timothy Aaron Mangan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Don’t be selfish in life; pass the ball. Winners in life’s game are people who demonstrate that they are not greedy when they have abundant of supply. They share freely provided they have it! That defines the true state of a purposeful person.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Israelmore Ayivor" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-winners-in-life-s-game-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/israelmore-ayivor-79_abundance_don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-w_2207602.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/israelmore-ayivor-79_abundance_don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-w_2207602.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a7/israelmore-ayivor-79_abundance_don-t-be-selfish-in-life-pass-the-ball-w_2207602.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don’t be selfish in life; pass the ball. Winners in life’s game are people who demonstrate that they are not…” — Israelmore Ayivor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know I have a successful career, a successful life. If I sit and say, 'Look, I have a comfortable life,' and I... just think about myself, I don't think that would be fair. That would be very selfish. Because everything I do in my life is to benefit my people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Weah" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weah/i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-successful-life-if-i-sit-and-say/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/george-weah-22492_benefits_i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-succ_1382793.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/george-weah-22492_benefits_i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-succ_1382793.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/george-weah-22492_benefits_i-know-i-have-a-successful-career-a-succ_1382793.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I know I have a successful career, a successful life. If I sit and say, 'Look, I have a comfortable life,'…” — George Weah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't want to eke out my life like a resource in short supply. The only selfish life is a timid one. To hold back, to withdraw, to keep the best in reserve, both overvalues the self, and undervalues what the self is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-resource-in-short-supply-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeanette-winterson-166_identity_i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-r_2710837.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeanette-winterson-166_identity_i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-r_2710837.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeanette-winterson-166_identity_i-don-t-want-to-eke-out-my-life-like-a-r_2710837.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't want to eke out my life like a resource in short supply. The only selfish life is a timid one. To…” — Jeanette Winterson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People who think of themselves as tough-minded and realistic, among them influential political leaders and businessmen as well as go-getters and hustlers of smaller caliber, tend to take it for granted that human nature is selfish and that life is a struggle in which only the fittest may survive. According to this philosophy, the basic law by which man must live, in spite of his surface veneer of civilization, is the law of the jungle. The \"fittest\" are those who can bring to the struggle superior force, superior cunning, and superior ruthlessness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "S. I. Hayakawa" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough-minded-and-realistic-among/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/s-i-hayakawa-15018_businessman_people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough_287447.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/s-i-hayakawa-15018_businessman_people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough_287447.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/452/s-i-hayakawa-15018_businessman_people-who-think-of-themselves-as-tough_287447.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People who think of themselves as tough-minded and realistic, among them influential political leaders and…” — S. I. Hayakawa", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You had once asked me if I was afraid of death. I said I was afraid of not living. I don’t want to eke out my life like a resource in short supply. The only selfish life is a timid one. To hold back, to withdraw, to keep the best in reserve, both overvalues the self, and undervalues what the self is.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of-death-i-said-i-was-afraid-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/jeanette-winterson-166_afraid-of-death_you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of_2090352.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/jeanette-winterson-166_afraid-of-death_you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of_2090352.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09e/jeanette-winterson-166_afraid-of-death_you-had-once-asked-me-if-i-was-afraid-of_2090352.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You had once asked me if I was afraid of death. I said I was afraid of not living. I don’t want to eke out…” — Jeanette Winterson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'm talking about the cycle of life. I'm talking about finding some alien creature and deciding to marry her and stay with her forever, no matter whether you even like each other or not a few years down the road. And why will you do this? So you can make babies together, and try to keep them alive and teach them what they need to know so that someday *they'll* have babies, and keep the whole thing going. And you'll never draw a secure breath until you have grandchildren, a double handful of them, because then you know that your line won't die out, your influence will continue. Selfish, isn't it? Only it's not selfish, it's what life is for. It's the only thing that brings happiness, ever, to anyone. All the other things--victories, achievements, honors, causes--they bring only momentary flashes of pleasure. But binding yourself to another person and to the children you make together, that's life. And you can't do it if your life is centered on your ambitions. You'll never be happy. It will never be enough, even if you rule the world.\" (Theresa Wiggin)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m-talking-about-finding-some/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/orson-scott-card-134_cycle-of-life_i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m_3219410.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/orson-scott-card-134_cycle-of-life_i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m_3219410.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82e/orson-scott-card-134_cycle-of-life_i-m-talking-about-the-cycle-of-life-i-m_3219410.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm talking about the cycle of life. I'm talking about finding some alien creature and deciding to marry her…” — Orson Scott Card", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Birthdays are a time when one stock takes, which means, I suppose, a good spineless mope: I scan my horizon and can discern no sail of hope along my own particular ambition. I tell you what it is: I'm quite in accord with the people who enquire 'What is the matter with the man?' because I don't seem to be producing anything as the years pass but rank self indulgence. You know that my sole ambition, officially at any rate, was to write poems & novels, an activity I never found any difficulty fulfilling between the (dangerous) ages of 17-24: I can't very well ignore the fact that this seems to have died a natural death. On the other hand I feel regretful that what talents I have in this direction are not being used. Then again, if I am not going to produce anything in the literary line, the justification for my selfish life is removed - but since I go on living it, the suspicion arises that the writing existed to produce the life, & not vice versa. And as a life it has very little to recommend it: I spend my days footling in a job I care nothing about, a curate among lady-clerks; I evade all responsibility, familial, professional, emotional, social, not even saving much money or helping my mother. I look around me & I see people getting on, or doing things, or bringing up children - and here I am in a kind of vacuum. If I were writing, I would even risk the fearful old age of the Henry-James hero: not fearful in circumstance but in realisation: because to me to catch, render, preserve, pickle, distil or otherwise secure life-as-it-seemed for the future seems to me infinitely worth doing; but as I'm not the entire morality of it collapses. And when I ask why I'm not, well, I'm not because I don't want to: every novel I attempt stops at a point where I awake from the impulse as one might awake from a particularly-sickening nightmare - I don't want to 'create character', I don't want to be vivid or memorable or precise, I neither wish to bathe each scene in the lambency of the 'love that accepts' or be excoriatingly cruel, smart, vicious, 'penetrating' (ugh), or any of the other recoil qualities. In fact, like the man in St Mawr, I want nothing. Nothing, I want. And so it becomes quite impossible for me to carry on. This failure of impulse seems to me suspiciously like a failure of sexual impulse: people conceive novels and dash away at them & finish them in the same way as they fall in love & will not be satisfied till they're married - another point on which I seem to be out of step. There's something cold & heavy sitting on me somewhere, & until something budges it I am no good.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Larkin" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-takes-which-means-i-suppose-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/philip-larkin-1822_ambition_birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-take_2656868.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/philip-larkin-1822_ambition_birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-take_2656868.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/philip-larkin-1822_ambition_birthdays-are-a-time-when-one-stock-take_2656868.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Birthdays are a time when one stock takes, which means, I suppose, a good spineless mope: I scan my horizon…” — Philip Larkin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Austen" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life-in-practice-though-not-in-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/jane-austen-39_children_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_3140294.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/jane-austen-39_children_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_3140294.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/baa/jane-austen-39_children_i-have-been-a-selfish-being-all-my-life_3140294.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what…” — Jane Austen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He stared to sea. \"I gave up all ideas of practicing medicine. In spite of what I have just said about the wave and the water, in those years in France I am afraid I lived a selfish life. That is, I offered myself every pleasure. I traveled a great deal. I lost some money dabbling in the theatre, but I made much more dabbling on the Bourse. I gained a great many amusing friends, some of whom are now quite famous. But I was never very happy. I suppose I was fortunate. It took me only five years to discover what some rich people never discover — that we all have a certain capacity for happiness and unhappiness. And that the economic hazards of life do not seriously affect it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Fowles" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of-practicing-medicine-in-spite/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/john-fowles-816_five-years_he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of_2608660.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/john-fowles-816_five-years_he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of_2608660.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/john-fowles-816_five-years_he-stared-to-sea-i-gave-up-all-ideas-of_2608660.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He stared to sea. \"I gave up all ideas of practicing medicine. In spite of what I have just said about the…” — John Fowles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-life/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-life/", "name": "Selfish Life Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-life/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/jeanette-winterson-166_life_the-only-selfish-life-is-a-timid-one-226_2264526.png" }, "description": "Browse 18 Selfish Life quotes by 13 authors. 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