Imagine the impact of the help-apps on all the ego-driven delusional wanna-be-great golfers who play without practice.

FORBES: Apps May Kill Golf As We Know It

If you do not have any of the above, you can still party, but be prepared to have your ego-crushed.

BBC: A guide to Miami nightlife

The reality is that even raising money from people you know can be a long, painful and ego-draining process.

WSJ: How to Find Your First Investors

Yes, she'd be married, but then she'd live only to repress herself for someone else's ego -- and what kind of message would that be for the children?

CNN: African moms: Be patient with your unmarried daughters

Would it be fair to categorize all men as ego-driven and stubborn?

FORBES: Gossipy Women, Egocentric Men and The Power of Perception in Business: Time to Stop the Madness!

Under the second, more desirable outcome, financial intermediation will aim to be more of a service, less of an ego-trip for the participants, and considerably less well paid.

ECONOMIST: The limits to removing banks' conflicts of interest

This type of ego-motivated behavior is driven by a desire to be loved and appreciated.

FORBES: Your Ego and the Bad Decisions It Makes

But following the knowledge takes its toll, and these conferences are eating alive the would-be thought leaders who join the circuit, traipsing around the world in search of ego food and new smarts, one quick bite at a time.

FORBES: Ideas Conferences as Brand Builders

The screenwriter, Robert Towne, seems to be trying to underplay the rah-rah elements of the material to give competition some point other than pure ego gratification.

NEWYORKER: Days of Thunder