--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The art of getting ahead in New York was…" description: "\"“The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting way.”\" — Don DeLillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg" --- # The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning… ![“The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting way.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg) > ““The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting way.”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success in a competitive city requires mastering the art of voicing complaints creatively, turning dissatisfaction into a strategic advantage. **In simple terms:** Expressing complaints cleverly helps you get ahead. Key Takeaway Learn to voice concerns constructively. Themes career urban life communication Mood cynical insightful Type literary observational When to use this quote - corporate meetings - political debates - creative writing - networking events Key Concepts strategic expression social dynamics competition Questions to Reflect On - When does constructive criticism become counterproductive? - How can creativity improve conflict resolution? A Different Perspective Risk of being seen as negative or manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Getting ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-ahead/) ## Related quotes > [He'd once told me that the art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/he-d-once-told-me-that-the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was-based/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The art of getting rich consists not in industry, much less in saving, but in a better order, in timeliness, in being at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-art-of-getting-rich-consists-not-in-industry-much-less-in-saving/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Experience. 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When you're not getting paid for that song that's being traded back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-powers/you-can-t-fool-yourself-anymore-that-your-art-is-your-art-when-you-re/) [Ann Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-powers/) > [Part of the joy of looking at art is getting in sync in some ways with the decision-making process that the artist used and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/part-of-the-joy-of-looking-at-art-is-getting-in-sync-in-some-ways/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) > [It's all about the art. 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The art of getting it right, hopefully the second time around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-owen-barry/experience-the-art-of-getting-it-right-hopefully-the-second-time/) [Clive Owen Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-owen-barry/) > [Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between the present and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/nostalgia-is-a-product-of-dissatisfaction-and-rage-it-s-a-settling-of/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-loren/getting-ahead-in-a-difficult-profession-requires-avid-faith-in/) [Sophia Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-loren/) > [The trick to getting ahead is to give it the same effort you give to getting even.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-getting-ahead-is-to-give-it-the-same-effort-you-give-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. 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It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. 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So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don DeLillo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was-based-on-learning-how-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was-based-on-learning-how-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b21/don-delillo-294_art_the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was_2279602.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The art of getting ahead in New York was based on learning how to express dissatisfaction in an interesting…” — Don DeLillo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Don DeLillo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The art of getting ahead in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was-based-on-learning-how-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-art-of-getting-ahead-in-new-york-was-based-on-learning-how-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```