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Just to play devil's advocate here, most people actually do enjoy helping others. If you're the rare person that doesn't like helping other people at all, then it's probably a waste of my effort to try to make you. So "do what you like to do" != "be selfish" in all cases.

So the advice is "help people whenever you feel like it"?

Sounds like good advice.

That's basically what it is, and maybe also a mindset of believing you matter as your own person, rather than just a means to and ends. Having at least some selfishness of that sort (at least when living in a culture designed for it - maybe things are different in more group-oriented cultures) is really important for things like being confident, being able to say no to others' requests, and not getting depressed.

Why wouldn't you advocate pure selfishness? Selfishness is a Good Thing. Why do we do anything? Because it satisfies some internal desire or drive. Selfishness is the epitome of living.