--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego." description: "\"Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego.\" — Paul Tudor Jones" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/paul-tudor-jones-15115_ego_don-t-be-a-hero-don-t-have-an-ego-80864_80864.jpg" --- # Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego. ![“Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego.” quote by Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/paul-tudor-jones-15115_ego_don-t-be-a-hero-don-t-have-an-ego-80864_80864.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/paul-tudor-jones-15115_ego_don-t-be-a-hero-don-t-have-an-ego-80864_80864.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/616/paul-tudor-jones-15115_ego_don-t-be-a-hero-don-t-have-an-ego-80864_80864.jpg) > “Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego.” [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True leadership avoids self‑glorification; humility and teamwork outweigh the desire for personal heroics. **In simple terms:** Leadership thrives on humility, not ego. Key Takeaway Ego hinders effective leadership. Themes leadership humility ego teamwork Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - executives stepping back for team input - athletes focusing on collective win - volunteers sharing credit Key Concepts self‑awareness service mindset Practical Applications - peer‑review decision processes - anonymous idea submissions Questions to Reflect On - When does confidence become ego? - How can teams balance humility with decisive action? A Different Perspective In some crisis moments, decisive personal leadership may be necessary despite ego. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hero/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want to be a hero, I don't want to ever let you down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-hero-i-don-t-want-to-ever-let-you-down/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [I'm not cut out to play a filmi hero. I don't look like a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhay-deol/i-m-not-cut-out-to-play-a-filmi-hero-i-don-t-look-like-a-hero/) [Abhay Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhay-deol/) > [Don't be a hero, if you're not going to save me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-liz-f/don-t-be-a-hero-if-you-re-not-going-to-save-me/) Sandra Liz F > [You don't have to do those things. You don't have to become a hero, Seth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/you-don-t-have-to-do-those-things-you-don-t-have-to-become-a-hero-seth/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [There are many ways to be a criminal or hero. Don't forget that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caragh-m-o-brien/there-are-many-ways-to-be-a-criminal-or-hero-don-t-forget-that/) [Caragh M. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caragh-m-o-brien/) > [“They don't get that a hero is someone facing their terrors, not someone that doesn't have any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-may/they-don-t-get-that-a-hero-is-someone-facing-their-terrors-not/) Savannah May > [But if we come back, if German men come back, if British men come back, and Japs, and French, and all the other men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/but-if-we-come-back-if-german-men-come-back-if-british-men-come-back/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [Since those who believe they need a hero/celebrity outnumber the actual heroes/celebrities, people feel safe and comfortably justified in numbers, committing egregious crimes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/since-those-who-believe-they-need-a-hero-celebrity-outnumber-the/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [“Forgotten hero was never the real hero, real hero can not be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/forgotten-hero-was-never-the-real-hero-real-hero-can-not-be-forgotten/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) ## More by Paul Tudor Jones > [You can not have significance in this life if it is all about you. You get your significance, you find your joy in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/you-can-not-have-significance-in-this-life-if-it-is-all-about-you-you/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [My off-the-cuff remarks at the University of Virginia were with regard to global macro traders, who are on-call 24/7 and of whom there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/my-off-the-cuff-remarks-at-the-university-of-virginia-were-with/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [It is not that we had any unfair knowledge that other people didn't have, it is just that we did our homework. People just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/it-is-not-that-we-had-any-unfair-knowledge-that-other-people-didn-t/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [The concept of paying one-hundred-and-something times earnings for any company for me is just anathema. Having said that, at the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/the-concept-of-paying-one-hundred-and-something-times-earnings-for/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [I believe the very best money is made at the market turns. Everyone says you get killed trying to pick tops and bottoms and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/i-believe-the-very-best-money-is-made-at-the-market-turns-everyone/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [Intellectual capital will always trump financial capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/intellectual-capital-will-always-trump-financial-capital/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [Much of my adult life has been spent fighting for equal opportunity, and the idea that I would support limiting opportunity for any segment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/much-of-my-adult-life-has-been-spent-fighting-for-equal-opportunity/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [Sometimes failure is merely chasing you off the wrong road and onto the right one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/sometimes-failure-is-merely-chasing-you-off-the-wrong-road-and-onto/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [And then at the end of the day, the most important thing is how good are you at risk control. Ninety-percent of any great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/and-then-at-the-end-of-the-day-the-most-important-thing-is-how-good/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [That cotton trade was almost the deal breaker for me. It was at that point that I said, “Mr. Stupid, why risk everything on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/that-cotton-trade-was-almost-the-deal-breaker-for-me-it-was-at-that/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [Macro-trading requires a high degree of skill, focus and repetition. Life events, such as birth, divorce, death of a loved one and other emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/macro-trading-requires-a-high-degree-of-skill-focus-and-repetition/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [There's such an emphasis on making money that we've really taken the humanity out of business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/there-s-such-an-emphasis-on-making-money-that-we-ve-really-taken-the/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [If trading is like chess, then macro is like three-dimensional chess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/if-trading-is-like-chess-then-macro-is-like-three-dimensional-chess/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [The whole world is simply nothing more than a flow chart for capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/the-whole-world-is-simply-nothing-more-than-a-flow-chart-for-capital/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [I'm always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money. Don't focus on making money, focus on protecting what you have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/i-m-always-thinking-about-losing-money-as-opposed-to-making-money-don/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) [Explore all 44 Paul Tudor Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) ## More Ego quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [I love playing ego and insecurity combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-love-playing-ego-and-insecurity-combined/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm a straight shooter, and most of the time my ego doesn't interrupt my relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-macht/i-m-a-straight-shooter-and-most-of-the-time-my-ego-doesn-t-interrupt/) [Gabriel Macht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-macht/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [Heart surgeons do not have the world's smallest egos: when you ask them to name the world's three leading practitioners, they never can remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/heart-surgeons-do-not-have-the-world-s-smallest-egos-when-you-ask/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [I hate acting when I see it. I don't want to feel it, I don't want to see it, I want to be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/i-hate-acting-when-i-see-it-i-don-t-want-to-feel-it-i-don-t-want-to/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“... a man doesn't like to have his ego popped, especially when he prides himself on his sagacity, and then to be proved wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/a-man-doesn-t-like-to-have-his-ego-popped-especially-when-he-prides/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Our real nature is not our imaginary, limited ego. Our true nature is vast, all-comprehensive, and intangible as empty space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anagarika-govinda/our-real-nature-is-not-our-imaginary-limited-ego-our-true-nature-is/) [Anagarika Govinda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anagarika-govinda/) > [The man of wisdom is devoid of ego even though he may appear to use it. His vacant or fasting mind is neither doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramesh-s-balsekar/the-man-of-wisdom-is-devoid-of-ego-even-though-he-may-appear-to-use/) [Ramesh S Balsekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramesh-s-balsekar/) > [Show me success without ego!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivana-trump/show-me-success-without-ego/) [Ivana Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivana-trump/) [Browse all 3,462 Ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't be a hero. 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