Navigating the complicated landscape of human emotions and behaviors often brings you face to face with the darker facets of personality, such as selfishness and heartlessness.
This compilation of “Heartless Selfish Quotes” explores the stark and sometimes brutal realities of people who prioritize their own desires over the well-being of others.
These quotes dig into themes of greed, betrayal, and a lack of kindness, offering an honest look at the effects of such behaviors on relationships and society.
Top Heartless Selfish Quotes
“Some people aren’t loyal to you, they are loyal to their need of you. Once their needs change, so does their loyalty.” – Unknown
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure.” – Jane Austen
“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places.” – Bryant H. McGill
“There are many things that we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up.” – Oscar Wilde
“It is impossible to be both selfish and happy.” – Unknown
“Beware of those around you who subtly sow the seeds of doubt.” – Wayne Gerard Trotman
“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” – William E. Gladstone
“To be selfish, greedy and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future suffering.” – Dalai Lama
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Heartless Selfish Quotes on Personal Gain
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.” – Mother Teresa
“A selfish heart is never at peace.” – Unknown
“There is no limit to the self-centered ambition of the selfish heart.” – Unknown
“The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion of principle but that of gain.” – Thomas Jefferson
“He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others.” – Publilius Syrus
“Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains.” – Unknown
“The selfish man suffers more from his selfishness than he from whom that selfishness withholds some important benefit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“When you have wit of your own, it’s a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.” – Criss Jami
“Selfishness is when you only remember a friend if you need something from them.” – Unknown
“Nothing resembles selfishness more closely than self-respect.” – George Sand
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Ignoring Others’ Needs
“The selfish spirit of commerce sees no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” – Charlotte Brontë
“Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” – Oscar Wilde
“In the end, the selfish succeed, they get what they want, and they can leave everyone else behind.” – Unknown
“People don’t care for you when you are alone, they just care for you when they are alone.” – Unknown
“Some people are selfish in all of their relationships. Those people are called sociopaths.” – Adam Grant
“There are people who are so original, so inventive, that they can think up a way to be selfish in situations where others wouldn’t even realise there was a possibility of gain.” – Thomas Hardy
“Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” – William Shakespeare
“I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.” – John Cleese
“For selfish people, the decision-making process is easy, even if it hurts others.” – Unknown
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Manipulative Behaviors
“Manipulative people do not understand the concept of boundaries. They are relentless in the pursuit of what they want even at the expense of others.” – Unknown
“Beware the person who stabs you and then tells the world they’re the one who’s bleeding.” – Jill Blakeway
“The lion does not turn around when a small dog barks.” – African Proverb
“A man who deceives others, that is merely vulgar, but a man who deceives himself, that is truly dangerous.” – Unknown
“Manipulation, fueled by personal ambition, can serve as a catalyst for a collective disaster.” – Unknown
“The secret of power is the knowledge that others are more cowardly than you are.” – Ludwig Börne
“Real love moves freely in both directions. Don’t waste your time on anything else.” – Cheryl Strayed
“There’s something wrong with your character if opportunity controls your loyalty.” – Sean Simmons
“People who enjoy waving flags don’t deserve to have one.” – Banksy
“When you stop caring that’s when they wanna start caring.” – Unknown
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Betrayal
“Betrayal is the only truth that sticks.” – Arthur Miller
“It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” – William Blake
“Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.” – Barbara Kingsolver
“Shattered legs may heal in time, but some betrayals fester and poison the soul.” – George R.R. Martin
“Betrayal is common for men with no conscience.” – Toba Beta
“When you care about someone, you can’t just turn that off because you learn they betrayed you.” – Paula Stokes
“One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though… betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope.” – Steven Deitz
“For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first.” – Suzanne Collins
“The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.” – Unknown
“Betrayal does that—betrays the betrayer.” – Erica Jong
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Lack of Empathy
“Empathy is the last thing I would waste on you.” – Unknown
“The absence of empathy is a void that cannot be filled with matter or time.” – Unknown
“It is a lonely feeling when someone you care about becomes a stranger.” – Lemony Snicket
“He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of dispute.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“I do not ask for your love—I have none of my own to give you in return.” – Angela Carter
“Some people’s empathy is less a gift for feeling others’ pain, and more a fail-safe system to avoid it.” – Stefan Molyneux
“The death of empathy is the very definition of evil.” – Jodi Picoult
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
“Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.” – Harry S. Truman
“Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” – Patrick Meagher
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Greed and Desire
“Greed is not a financial issue. It’s a heart issue.” – Andy Stanley
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“People are so selfish. Those you help are the ones who turn against you.” – Munshi Premchand
“There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“He who is greedy is always in want.” – Horace
“Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough.” – Janwillem van de Wetering
“For greed, all nature is too little.” – Seneca
“Greed, in the end, fails even the greedy.” – Cathryn Louis
“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed—for lack of a better word—is good.” – Gordon Gekko (Fictional)
“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” – Erich Fromm
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Prioritizing Oneself Over Relationships
“Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.” – Edward Albert
“Selfishness is thinking more of the benefits to oneself than the consequences to others.” – Unknown
“If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless.” – Wayne Dyer
“Before I ask for someone else’s, I must first be happy with my own company.” – Mandy Hale
“It is necessary, and even vital, to set standards for your life and the people you allow in it.” – Mandy Hale
“Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and you don’t have to sacrifice.” – Herbie Mann
“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have.” – Abraham Lincoln
“I do a thing called what I want.” – Unknown
“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go—purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything… whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it.” – Johnny Depp
“The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, ‘If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.’ Now I say, ‘I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me’.” – Jim Rohn
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Disregard for Consequences
“In his heart, every man knows quite well that, being unique, he will be in the world only once and that no imaginable chance will for a second time gather together into a unity so strangely variegated an assortment as he is.” – Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The selfish spirit of commerce knows no country, and feels no passion or principle but that of gain.” – Thomas Jefferson
“He who takes but never gives, may last for years but never lives.” – Unknown
“A man is called selfish not for pursuing his own good, but for neglecting his neighbor’s.” – Richard Whately
“Selfishness is that detestable vice which no one will forgive in others, and no one is without in himself.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“If you live your life as if everything is about you… you will be left with just that. Just you.” – Wayne Dyer
“When you have wit of your own, it’s a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.” – Criss Jami
“Selfishness at the expense of others’ happiness is demonism.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“It is the nature of the ego to take, and the nature of the spirit to share.” – Proverb
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Power and Control
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln
“The world is not fair, and often fools, cowards, liars and the selfish hide in high places.” – Bryant H. McGill
“Remember, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Lord Acton
“The desire of power in excess caused angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall.” – Francis Bacon
“Dominion is often gained by merit, but maintained by force.” – Unknown
“He who seeks power shows he was never worthy of it.” – Unknown
“Manipulation is when they blame you for your reaction to their disrespect.” – Unknown
“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts, perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” – John Steinbeck
“Control is never achieved when sought after directly. It is the surprising outcome of letting go.” – James Arthur Ray
“In the end, the aggressors always destroy themselves, making room for others who know how to cooperate and get along.” – Dalai Lama
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Isolation and Loneliness
“The ego seeks to divide and separate. Spirit seeks to unify and heal.” – Pema Chödrön
“Loneliness is the prison of the human spirit. When we are lonely, we pace back and forth in small, shut-in worlds.” – John Joseph Powell
“People who protect themselves with walls and pretenses get the same results in every aspect of their lives: loneliness and isolation.” – Shannon L. Alder
“Selfishness creates greed and greed destroys the soul.” – Zarina Bibi
“In his selfish quest for power and territory, man has destroyed the habitats of many species, and has brought many to the brink of extinction.” – Nelson Mandela
“Beware of those who are lonely and envious, for their need might make them turn against you.” – Unknown
“Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.” – Harry S. Truman
“Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet… these selfish people are far less likely to be happy than those whose efforts are devoted to making others happy.” – Bernard Rimland
“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” – Mother Teresa
“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” – Mother Teresa
Heartless Selfish Quotes on Breaking Trust
“It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.” – Confucius
“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” – Unknown
“When someone breaks your trust, don’t feel stupid for trusting them. You didn’t do anything wrong; they’re just an untrustworthy person.” – Sonya Parker
“Trust is like a paper, once it’s crumpled it can’t be perfect again.” – Unknown
“Betrayal annihilates trust. The more trust there is to begin with, and the more deception is involved, the more damage is done.” – Sandra Lee Dennis
“Breaking someone’s trust is like crumpling up a perfect piece of paper. You can smooth it over but it’s never going to be the same again.” – Unknown
“Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.” – Barbara Kingsolver
“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“Lies and deceit are a coward’s tools.” – Unknown
“Trust, once lost, could not be easily found. Not in a year, perhaps not even in a lifetime.” – J.E.B. Spredemann
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Final Thoughts
“Heartless Selfish Quotes” serve as a contemplative mirror, presenting a poignant commentary on the effect of placing self-interest above all else.
While these quotes might resonate with the cold and calculated decisions you may take, they also offer an opportunity for reflection and understanding.
By exploring these expressions of selfishness, you are reminded of the significance of empathy, trust, and community in building healthier relationships and a more humane world.