--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone has an ulterior motive. Everyone…" description: "\"“Everyone has an ulterior motive. Everyone wants something, and everyone is willing to do whatever they have to in order to get it. Regardless of who w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/kyra-dune-32909_motive_everyone-has-an-ulterior-motive-everyone_802953.jpg" --- # Everyone has an ulterior motive. Everyone wants something… ![“Everyone has an ulterior motive. Everyone wants something, and everyone is willing to do whatever they have to in order to get it. Regardless of who winds up hurt in the process.” quote by Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/kyra-dune-32909_motive_everyone-has-an-ulterior-motive-everyone_802953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/kyra-dune-32909_motive_everyone-has-an-ulterior-motive-everyone_802953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/kyra-dune-32909_motive_everyone-has-an-ulterior-motive-everyone_802953.jpg) > ““Everyone has an ulterior motive. Everyone wants something, and everyone is willing to do whatever they have to in order to get it. Regardless of who winds up hurt in the process.”” [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People act out of self‑interest, often harming others; motives drive behavior regardless of consequences. **In simple terms:** Self‑interest drives actions, causing harm. Key Takeaway Recognize and question personal motives. Themes motivation ethics human nature Mood cynical serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Business negotiations - political campaigns - personal relationships Key Concepts Moral psychology strategic behavior Questions to Reflect On - What are examples of selfless actions? - How can we mitigate harm from selfish motives? A Different Perspective Not all actions are purely self‑serving; altruism exists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Motive Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive-wants-6145043/) [Regardless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regardless/) [Ulterior motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulterior-motive/) [Wants Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-willing-1794503/) ## Related quotes > [You cant lose when your biggest fan is your teammate in life...who wants to see you have it all, and is willing to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-lose-when-your-biggest-fan-is-your-teammate-in-life-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When it comes to being a good lover, a guy has to ask a girl what she wants and be willing to give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-jameson/when-it-comes-to-being-a-good-lover-a-guy-has-to-ask-a-girl-what-she/) [Jenna Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-jameson/) > [Your best servant is the person who does not attend so much to hearing what he himself wants as to willing what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-best-servant-is-the-person-who-does-not-attend-so-much-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I truly believe that a woman can have anything she wants - if she's willing to do the hard work it takes to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-truly-believe-that-a-woman-can-have-anything-she-wants-if-she-s/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives: Be kind anyway. If you are successful you will win some false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/if-you-are-kind-people-may-accuse-you-of-selfish-ulterior-motives-be/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [Who benefits from Wi-Fi? We all benefit from Wi-Fi. Is there an industry here? Of course, there is an industry, as well. The point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/who-benefits-from-wi-fi-we-all-benefit-from-wi-fi-is-there-an/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When one has extensively pondered about men, as a career or as a vocation, one sometimes feels nostalgic for primates. 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I'm not going to worry about what may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-m-not-going-to-stop-talking-to-people-who-come-up-to-me-in-an/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/it-is-when-we-act-freely-for-the-sake-of-the-action-itself-rather/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [If you can figure out what their motivation is, then you're ahead of the game. I think that's why a lot of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-faison/if-you-can-figure-out-what-their-motivation-is-then-you-re-ahead-of/) [Donald Faison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-faison/) > [“Many pray for the power of God. More every year. Those prayers sound powerful, sincere, godly, and without ulterior motive. Hidden under such prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-pray-for-the-power-of-god-more-every-year-those-prayers-sound/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We live in an age where in politics, people can't disagree with each other without good faith being questioned, there is always an ulterior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-live-in-an-age-where-in-politics-people-can-t-disagree-with-each/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [I would argue that search has made the world a better place. It has done so for reasons that arbitrarily could completely change that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-would-argue-that-search-has-made-the-world-a-better-place-it-has/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [“Here. Right here, right now bring your mind to this place and time. Invite it, even if it resists, to sit and witness what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-faulds/here-right-here-right-now-bring-your-mind-to-this-place-and-time/) [Richard Faulds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-faulds/) ## More by Kyra Dune > [“Change can be a good thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/change-can-be-a-good-thing/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“It dawned on me then that I didn’t understand anything half as well as I thought I did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/it-dawned-on-me-then-that-i-didn-t-understand-anything-half-as-well/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“You aren’t exactly best friends with the truth yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/you-aren-t-exactly-best-friends-with-the-truth-yourself/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“I don’t want to kill you, but I must. For the good of the country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/i-don-t-want-to-kill-you-but-i-must-for-the-good-of-the-country/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“I like plain old you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/i-like-plain-old-you/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“In the rational light of day, he could tell himself that it was better this way, for both of them. The past was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/in-the-rational-light-of-day-he-could-tell-himself-that-it-was-better/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“Yet beauty is a shallow thing. So fleeting. Strength, intelligence, spirit, these things can be far more appealing than what lies on the surface…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/yet-beauty-is-a-shallow-thing-so-fleeting-strength-intelligence/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“May your dreams be silent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/may-your-dreams-be-silent/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“Such things are even more important when we’re alone, so that we might remember who we are and who we can no longer be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/such-things-are-even-more-important-when-we-re-alone-so-that-we-might/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“No matter how old you get, no matter how far you’ve strayed, a mother can always see right through you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/no-matter-how-old-you-get-no-matter-how-far-you-ve-strayed-a-mother/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“I hate secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/i-hate-secrets/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“A conscience can be a dangerous thing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/a-conscience-can-be-a-dangerous-thing/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“Either you’re with me or you’re against me. I can’t afford to be looking over my shoulder all the time waiting for you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/either-you-re-with-me-or-you-re-against-me-i-can-t-afford-to-be/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) > [“It wasn’t bravery that ushered me into that cave, it was a mixture of stupidity, guilt and the brashness of youth. A deadlier combination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyra-dune/it-wasn-t-bravery-that-ushered-me-into-that-cave-it-was-a-mixture-of/) [Kyra Dune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) [Explore all 15 Kyra Dune quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyra-dune/) ## More Motive quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Tis e'er the wont of simple folk to prize the deed and o'erlook the motive, and of learned folk to discount the deed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/tis-e-er-the-wont-of-simple-folk-to-prize-the-deed-and-o-erlook-the/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [You can drive yourself crazy trying to peer into a person's soul--or you can do the sensible thing: ask not what inner motives drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-begala/you-can-drive-yourself-crazy-trying-to-peer-into-a-person-s-soul-or/) [Paul Begala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-begala/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Behind many acts that are thought ridiculous there lie wise and weighty motives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/behind-many-acts-that-are-thought-ridiculous-there-lie-wise-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Every man without passions has within him no principle of action, nor motive to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-adrien-helvetius/every-man-without-passions-has-within-him-no-principle-of-action-nor/) [Claude Adrien Helvetius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-adrien-helvetius/) > [A strengthened national spirit can provide the motive power to rise our people from the depths and... pour new life and vigor in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-p-romulo/a-strengthened-national-spirit-can-provide-the-motive-power-to-rise/) [Carlos P. Romulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-p-romulo/) > [It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-livingstone/it-is-hard-to-work-for-years-with-pure-motives-and-all-the-time-be/) [David Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-livingstone/) > [In every enterprise ... the mind is always reasoning, and, even when we seem to act without a motive, an instinctive logic still directs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/in-every-enterprise-the-mind-is-always-reasoning-and-even-when-we/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [If you are to go to Christ, do not put on your good doings and feelings, or you will get nothing. Go in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-are-to-go-to-christ-do-not-put-on-your-good-doings-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [we make a great fuss about national conscience, but it consists mainly in insisting upon everyone ascribing our national policy to highly moral motives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/we-make-a-great-fuss-about-national-conscience-but-it-consists-mainly/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [In work we act under the predominant motive of external, rational necessities; in pleasure, under the predominant motive of other, equally general necessities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolay-chernyshevsky/in-work-we-act-under-the-predominant-motive-of-external-rational/) [Nikolay Chernyshevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolay-chernyshevsky/) [Browse all 1,345 Motive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everyone has an ulterior motive. 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