I got up at 6am to take my best friend in the Phoenix area out for coffee before work. We got to talking about selfishness somehow. She was still somewhat of the mindset that selfishness is necessarily bad.
I couldn't help but accidentally make a few points that Ayn Rand probably would have made. For instance, "I didn't get up at 6am and buy you coffee because I thought it'd make you happy, I did it because it makes me happy."
I really think that Ayn Rand had an underrated take on love. Does anyone actually want to be loved altruistically? Wouldn't it be a kick in the teeth for somebody to say that he or she loves you because it seems to be something that you need? Isn't it always better to be loved because you've created value for that person, and that person appreciates that value, and that person desperately wants you in his or her life for his or her own sake?