Sometimes you need your ego. If you can control it correctly, it can be the difference between excellence and greatness.

EGOTIST, n. A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me.

Egotism plays many parts, even that of altruism.

Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity

You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.

Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.

Le monde est plein d’individus avides et égoïstes. C’est pourquoi l’être exceptionnel qui s’efforce de servir autrui généreusement et sans arrière-pensée possède un énorme avantage sur le reste de l’humanité, car il ne rencontre guère de
concurrence.

"To be "great" is an ego goal; to be real is existential."

When you’re arrogant and egotistical,” says Dr. Olds, “you’re shutting out complexity, novelty, and unpredictability to preserve a distorted self-image. Any incoming information that could lead to self-doubt is stamped out. It’s a massive data reduction. Humility moves in the other direction, it opens us up and increases incoming information. As a result, there is more opportunity for pattern recognition, more dopamine, and less need for judgmental metacognition.

Our zeal works wonders, whenever it supports our inclination toward hatred, cruelty, ambition.

The self-effacing person is soothing and gracious, while the self-promoting person is fragile and jarring. Humility is freedom from the need to prove you are superior all the time, but egotism is a ravenous hunger in a small space — self-concerned, competitive, and distinction-hungry. Humility is infused with lovely emotions like admiration, companionship, and gratitude.

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

The egotist is all surface; underneath is a pulpy mess and a lot of self-doubt. But the egoist may be yielding and even deferential in things he doesn't consider important; in anything that touches his core he is remorseless.

Oh, subjective obstinacy had advantages, Morris, when we were busy evolving into nature’s champion egotists. It led to human mastery over the planet … and several times to our species nearly wiping itself out.