These unselfish quotes will inspire you. Unselfish, the quality of not putting yourself first but being willing to give your time or money or effort, etc. for others or willing to put the needs or wishes of others before one’s own.
Below you will find a collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging unselfish quotes, unselfish sayings, and unselfish proverbs.
Best Unselfish Quotes
- “The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless.” ~ Billy Graham
- “The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
- “Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.” ~ Erma Bombeck , Unselfish quotes love
- “Be unselfish. That is the first and final commandment for those who would be useful and happy in their usefulness. If you think of yourself only, you cannot develop because you are choking the source of development, which is spiritual expansion through thought for others.” ~ Charles William Eliot
-
“True love begins when nothing is looked for in return.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- “The secret of being loved is in being lovely; and the secret of being lovely is in being unselfish.” ~ J. G. Holland , Being unselfish quotes
- “Happiness is spiritual, born of truth and love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.” ~ Mary Baker Eddy
- “If everyone waited to do something good until they had purely unselfish motivations, no good would ever get done in the world. The point is to do it anyway.” ~ Wendy Mass
- “The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service.” ~ Billy Graham
-
“The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.” ~ Helen Keller
- “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Let your intentions be good – embodied in good thoughts, cheerful words, and unselfish deeds – and the world will be to you a bright and happy place in which to work and play and serve” ~ Grenville Kleiser
- “Day by day we are building for eternity … Every gentle word, every generous thought, every unselfish deed will become a pillar of eternal beauty in the life to come.” ~ Rebecca Ruter Springer , Unselfish quotes life
- “What I mean by that is that the point of life, as I see it, is not to write books or scale mountains or sail oceans, but to achieve happiness, and preferably an unselfish happiness.” ~ Bernard Cornwell
-
“You are not here in the world for yourself. You have been sent here for others. The world is waiting for you!” ~ Catherine Booth
- “The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane, and devoted natures; the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement – but it passes away from them. They are not the leaders of a revolution. They are its victims.” ~ Joseph Conrad
- “This world is not for cowards. Do not try to fly. Look not for success or failure. Join yourself to the perfectly unselfish will and work on.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
- “In almost every marriage there is a selfish and an unselfish partner. A pattern is set up and soon becomes inflexible, of one person always making the demands and one person always giving way.” ~ Iris Murdoch , Unselfish quotes giving
- “The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.” ~ Jessica Lange
-
“I just bring the determination to win.” ~ LeBron James
- “Going to war was the only unselfish thing I have ever done for humanity.” ~ David Niven
- “God sends children for another purpose than merely to keep up the race — to enlarge our hearts, to make us unselfish, and full of kindly sympathies and affections.” ~ Mary Howitt
- “To all the positions, I just bring the determination to win. Me being an unselfish player, I think that can carry on to my teammates. When you have one of the best players on the court being unselfish, I think that transfers to the other players.” ~ LeBron James
- “Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
-
“If you want team play, you must stress defense. Defense makes players unselfish.” ~ John Brady
- “When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort, its ready to climb.” ~ Pat Riley
- “Ironically, brothers and sisters, the natural man who is so very selfish in so many ordinary ways is strangely unselfish in that he reaches for too few of the things that bring real joy. He settles for a mess of pottage instead of eternal joy.” ~ Neal A. Maxwell
- “It is the woman – nearly always – in spite of all the advances of modern feminism, who still takes responsibility for the bulk of the chores, as well as doing her paid job. This is true even in households where men try to be unselfish and to do their share.” ~ A. N. Wilson
- “But I must own that I also felt stirred by an unselfish desire to voice all the joys and sorrows, the hopes and ambitions, of the American Negro, in classic musical form.” ~ James Weldon Johnson
-
“Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world” ~ Miyamoto Musashi
- “There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe
- “The moralist is the person who tells people that they ought to be unselfish, when they still feel like egos, and his efforts are always and invariably futile.” ~ Alan Watts
- “The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; the other selfish. One is universally admired; the other universally condemned.” ~ Dale Carnegie
- “If you really want the good of others, the whole universe may stand against you and cannot hurt you. It must crumble before your power of the Lord Himself in you if you are sincere and really unselfish.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
-
“Intercession is the most unselfish thing anyone can do.” ~ Paul Billheimer
- “Love is not simply a feeling of romantic excitement; it is more than a desire to marry a potential partner; it goes beyond intense sexual attraction; it exceeds the thrill at having “captured” a highly desirable social prize. Real love is an expression of the deepest appreciation for another human being; it is awareness of his or her needs and longings- past, present and future. It is unselfish, giving and caring.” ~ James Dobson
- “The victorious Christian neither exalts nor downgrades himself. His interests have shifted from self to Christ.” ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer
- “The meek are positive and often colorful characters. They are not self-assertive nor self-seeking, to be sure, but rather they are unselfish and uncomplaining, genuinely interested in the welfare of others, creating opportunities to be of service to them, submissive in the face of injuries and insults, silent in the accidents and adversities of life, and bearing with equanimity the infamies and injustices heaped upon them.” ~ V. Raymond Edman
- “I think we can end the divisions within the United States. What I think is quite clear is that we can work together in the last analysis. And that what has been going on with the United States over the period of that last three years, the divisions, the violence, the disenchantment with our society, the divisions – whether it’s between blacks and whites, between the poor and the more affluent, or between age groups, or in the war in Vietnam – that we can work together. We are a great country, an unselfish country and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running.” ~ Robert Kennedy
-
“Love can be unselfish, in the sense of being benevolent and generous, without being selfless.” ~ Mortimer Adler
- “Cookery is a wholly unselfish art: as ‘art for art’s sake’ it is unthinkable. A man may sing in his bath every morning without the least encouragement, but no cook can cook just for his or her own sake in a like manner. All good cooks, like all great artists, must have an audience worth cooking for.” ~ Andre Simon
- “So I tell you, my son, that the secret of true happiness is for him who asks nothing in return. The perfectly unselfish man is the one who finds his glory in God. Give what you have to give, and it will come back to you. All materials to build thy home in this world or the inner cosmic worlds come from within, from the God center in thy heart.” ~ Paul Twitchell
- “But love is something that has to be as selfish as it is unselfish. You can’t make yourself love someone because you feel like you should. Just wanting to love someone isn’t enough.” ~ Aprilynne Pike
- “The Washington Post is and has been the greatest historic competitor of the New York Times. Half of me, though, the unselfish part of me that is just a journalist, is thrilled. I want newspapers to succeed. Let’s take the Guardian, which is a new competitor in the digital age. Does it make me nervous that they compete with us and in fact beat us on the Snowden story? Yes. The part of me that’s a competitive journalist and wants to fight and play says: bring them on! It’s more fun that way.” ~ Dean Baquet
-
“Our goal is to develop our team, to earn what we get, to learn, to develop unselfish attitudes. If we achieve that, the results is that we’ll win.” ~ Marv Levy
- “There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness, beguilements, buffooneries, loud voices, ‘the sound of battle and garments rolled in blood,’ the anthologist is quietly ensuring the immortality of somebody else.” ~ Mary Webb
- “A spontaneous act of generosity, performed with unselfish grace is an example of moral beauty, as are certain acts of courage; genuine modesty is a possible example, as is selfless love. Although moral beauty is a natural gift, it is nevertheless more likely to emerge and flourish in societies that appreciate and encourage it.” ~ Yi-Fu Tuan
- “The first steps toward stewardship are awareness, appreciation, and the
selfish desire to have the things around for our kids to see. Presumably the
unselfish motives will follow as we wise up.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver - “We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon us two centuries ago in that little hall of Philadelphia. In the days following World War II, when the economic strength and power of America was all that stood between the world and the return to the dark ages, Pope Pius XII said, ‘The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. Into the hands of America God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.’ We are indeed, and we are today, the last best hope of man on earth.” ~ Ronald Reagan
-
“One great, strong, unselfish soul in every community would actually redeem the world.” ~ Elbert Hubbard
- “The mass of men worry themselves into nameless graves while here and there a great unselfish soul forgets himself into immortality.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Objective judgement, now, at this very moment. Unselfish action, now, at this very moment. Willing acceptance – now, at this very moment – of all external events. That’s all you need.” ~ Marcus Aurelius
- “I think Chris Paul is a great player. He is very unselfish and plays very hard, so he would be a guy if he plays. I think his hand is still questionable, though. I hear they are talking about resting him that weekend. I’m excited to play with all the guys. Marvin Williams is starting to play well, and Salim Stoudamire, I think he should be there.” ~ Andrew Bogut
- “Put others before yourself, unselfish love, do unto others as you would have done to you.” ~ Jessica Chastain
-
“Three things I have longed to see … The sea serpent, a white rhinoceros, and an unselfish man.” ~ Myrtle Reed
- “That which we look on with unselfish love
And true humility is surely ours,
Even as a lake looks at the stars above
And makes within itself a heaven of stars.” ~ Mary Gardiner Brainard - “This world is not for cowards. Do not try to fly. Look not for success or failure. Join yourself to the perfectly unselfish will and work on. Know that the mind which is born to succeed joins itself to a determined will and perseveres. You have the right to work, but do not become so degenerate as to look for results. Work incessantly, but see something behind the work. Even good deeds can find a man in great bondage. Therefore be not bound by good deeds or by desire for name and fame. Those who know this secret pass beyond this round of birth and death and become immortal.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
- “Love of country produces among men such examples as Cincinnatus, Alfred, Washington–pure, unselfish, symmetrical; among women, Vittoria Colonna, Madame Roland, Charlotte Corday, Jeanne Darc–romantic, devoted, marvelous.” ~ Alphonse de Lamartine
- “Do not be afraid of a small beginning. great things come afterwards. Be courageous. Do not try to lead your brethren, but serve them. The brutal mania for leading has sunk many a great ships in the waters of life. Take care especially of that, i.e. be unselfish even unto death, and work.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
-
“I think team sports probably teach you more about giving – about being unselfish and being flexible.” ~ Chris Evert
- “But when you get into a situation where you can acquire a proven leader, a proven quality player, an unselfish player, a guy who taken a team to the Super Bowl, I think you do it.” ~ Ron Jaworski
- “A person who can really be called an unselfish person, has no place in life.” ~ Ivy Compton-Burnett
- “In the sex-war, thoughtlessness is a weapon of the male, vindictiveness of the female. Both are reciprocally generated, but a woman’s desire for revenge outlasts all other emotion. Yet when every unkind word about women has been said, we have still to admit, with Byron, that they are nicer than men. They are more devoted, more unselfish and more emotionally sincere. When the long fuse of cruelty, deceit and revenge is set alight, it is male thoughtlessness which has fired it.” ~ Cyril Connolly
- “Being happy requires that you define your life in your own terms and then throw your whole heart into living your life to the fullest. In a way, happiness requires that you be perfectly selfish in order to develop yourself to a point where you can be unselfish for the rest of your life.” ~ Brian Tracy
- “Human beings are endowed by nature with both selfish and unselfish impulses.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr
