A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Quotes

I don't know if it's ever OK for someone to be selfish. Perhaps there's a time and place to be self-centered, but I think selfish never wins the race.

Frankly, I'm not religious, but I believe in the cause of humanity - doing good work.

Every forward is selfish, and any forward who tells you he is not selfish is a liar.

America needs young people to be inspired to choose sacrifice over greed.

I feel really ambiguous about the psychology of people trying to do good in the world.

True generosity is too frequently eaten up by prosperity and riches.

It is the essence of responsibility to put the public good ahead of personal gain.

It's good to be authentic, to help other people, but if it's not helping other people, then don't do it.

I don't think it really serves to make the world a better place, when you're only concerned about yourself.

It's time for greatness - not for greed. It's a time for idealism - not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action.

A good man will never harm or oppress another. A good man will share his last morsel of food with others in need, and die of hunger when he no longer has any food -- instead of cheat or steal from others to survive. Selflessness. Humility. Truthfulness. These are the three marks of an honorable man.

Throw away profit and greed, and there won't be any thieves.

Virtues lose themselves in self-interest, as rivers in the sea.

We all have the duty to do good.

Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, 'What's in it for me?'

I have no private interest in the reception of my inventions by the world, having never made, nor proposed to make, the least profit by any of them.

Hollywood wants its heroes to be virtuous, but it defines virtue in a way that excludes any action that is self-interested. If virtue means putting others ahead of self, then it's clear that most people, let alone most capitalists, aren't very virtuous.

Good character consists of recognizing the selfishness that inheres in each of us and trying to balance it against the altruism to which we should all aspire. It is a difficult balance to strike, but no definition of goodness can be complete without it.

I don't mind if my future is long or short, as long as I'm doing the right thing. And as long as I behave for other people.

Religion creates community, community creates altruism and altruism turns us away from self and towards the common good... There is something about the tenor of relationships within a religious community that makes it the best tutorial in citizenship and good neighborliness.

From my early school days, I was brought up with the belief that we have a duty to use our talents, to volunteer and to make a contribution.

When you start learning how to give when you're young, when you get older it is second nature. Just like stealing. Start young and you keep on stealing forever. Ask my politicians.

There is the expression of selfishness and there is the expression of selflessness - but economists or theoreticians never touched that part. They said: 'Go and become a philanthropist.' I said, 'No, I can do that in the business world, create a different kind of business - a business based on selflessness.'

I have vanity and greed enough for one person. But at the same time, I feel in my bones you lose a lot of life's value if you don't see yourself as a member of the family of man.

Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a goal and an essential part of my life - a kind of destiny. Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running wherever they are.