“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.
Google Books
The Literary Digest
v. 72 - 1922
Pg. 15:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get—New York American.
Google Books
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.
Google Books
November 1963, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, pg. 33, col. 1:
Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
Anon.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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