I think we all aspire to leave a mark in the world so that when we leave it behind we are remembered. I admit to that but only to those who opinion really matter to me: is my mom proud of the man and father I have become, does my daughter look up to me as being a good person? I think that is my focus which still could be selfish depending on the means done to get there.
I think it is interesting to consider how others might view us as we can never truly know. It is also a question of whether their view is valuable or whether even the views of those close to us shouldn't matter due to their various biases. What I think though is that we should all spend some time thinking about whether what we do is getting to what we need.
It is all selfish if you consider the feedback or the feeling of doing a good job a return.