“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get”
“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get” has been attributed to the New York (NY) American newspaper since January 1922. The saying—anthologized in several lists of business quotations— shows that success doesn’t always equal happiness.
12 January 1922, Carroll (IA) Times, pg. 2, col. 2:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.—New York American.
17 January 1922, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 6:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.—New York American.
19 March 1922, Victoria (TX) Advocate, pg. 2, col. 2:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
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The Literary Digest
v. 72 - 1922
Pg. 15:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get—New York American.
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Jesus’ teachings for young people
By Sidney Adams Weston
Boston, MA: The Pilgrim Press
1927
Pg. 61:
“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” — New York American.
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November 1963, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, pg. 33, col. 1:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
Anon.