---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Salaryitis' is when you become so…"
description: "\"'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull out of the rut and strike out on your own. It..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg"
---

#  'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that…

![“'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull out of the rut and strike out on your own. It destroys the nerve of ambitious, imaginative men, and bowing to it has meant sure defeat for more people than any other sickness, mental or…” quote by E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg)

> “'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull out of the rut and strike out on your own. It destroys the nerve of ambitious, imaginative men, and bowing to it has meant sure defeat for more people than any other sickness, mental or physical.”

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When a steady paycheck becomes a comfort zone, it saps ambition and discourages risk‑taking, leading to stagnation.

**In simple terms:** Comfortable salary can kill ambition.

Key Takeaway

Challenge your comfort zone.

Themes

ambition comfort zone career stagnation

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

advice inspirational

When to use this quote

- career planning
- entrepreneurship
- personal finance
- skill development

Key Concepts

psychology risk aversion motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- What risks are you avoiding because of your salary?
- How can you reignite ambition while still earning?

A Different Perspective

Salary comfort can mask underlying dissatisfaction.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/)

## Related quotes

> [“But if love is a human sickness and a mental weakness, it must not be blamed as mistake, but claimed as misfortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorgias-of-leontini/but-if-love-is-a-human-sickness-and-a-mental-weakness-it-must-not-be/)

Gorgias of Leontini

> [Difficulties seldom defeat people; lack of faith in themselves usually does it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/difficulties-seldom-defeat-people-lack-of-faith-in-themselves-usually/)

[John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/)

> [People talk about the pain of defeat, but I think defeat has a lot of value. I think the wound of victory can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/people-talk-about-the-pain-of-defeat-but-i-think-defeat-has-a-lot-of/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [When you move your focus from competition to contribution life becomes a celebration. Never try to defeat people, just win their hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/when-you-move-your-focus-from-competition-to-contribution-life/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [“You are not that kind of man Pekkala. You are not the monster that your enemies once believed you to be. If you were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-eastland/you-are-not-that-kind-of-man-pekkala-you-are-not-the-monster-that/)

Sam Eastland

> [There is no way to escape death, it is just like trying to escape by four great mountains touching sky. There is no escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-is-no-way-to-escape-death-it-is-just-like-trying-to-escape-by/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Deliver me from all evildoers that talk nothing but sickness and failure. Grant me the companionship of men who think success and men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/deliver-me-from-all-evildoers-that-talk-nothing-but-sickness-and/)

[William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/)

> [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/)

[Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/)

> [Wise people are able to give themselves gracefully to seemingly contradictory experiences, because they know that they belong to different seasons of life, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/wise-people-are-able-to-give-themselves-gracefully-to-seemingly/)

[Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/)

> [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/)

[Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/)

> [I would have done anything for him. Maybe that was my sickness. We made love in nothing places and turned the lights off. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-would-have-done-anything-for-him-maybe-that-was-my-sickness-we-made/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/)

[Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/)

Daniel K Judd

> [It seems an insult to nature and to the Creator to imagine that pregnancy was ever intended to be a sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-bisbee-duffey/it-seems-an-insult-to-nature-and-to-the-creator-to-imagine-that/)

Eliza Bisbee Duffey

## More by E. Joseph Cossman

> [For products with revision possibilities, there is no better source available than a company going out of business!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/for-products-with-revision-possibilities-there-is-no-better-source/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [The greatest power is often simple patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/the-greatest-power-is-often-simple-patience/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Square meals often make round people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/square-meals-often-make-round-people/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [You can have the best product in the world, you can have the best motivation in the world, you can have best education in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/you-can-have-the-best-product-in-the-world-you-can-have-the-best/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [If you try to make money doing something you're not enjoying, it's a hard way to make money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/if-you-try-to-make-money-doing-something-you-re-not-enjoying-it-s-a/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [“Obstacles is what a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/obstacles-is-what-a-person-sees-when-he-takes-his-eyes-off-his-goal/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/obstacles-are-things-a-person-sees-when-he-takes-his-eyes-off-his-goal/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/middle-age-is-when-your-broad-mind-and-narrow-waist-begin-to-change/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [If you are ready to put a product or service on the market, look at that product or service and see how you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/if-you-are-ready-to-put-a-product-or-service-on-the-market-look-at/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/drive-in-banks-were-established-so-most-of-the-cars-today-could-see/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Do not quit! Hundreds of times I have watched people throw in the towel at the one-yard line while someone else comes along and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/do-not-quit-hundreds-of-times-i-have-watched-people-throw-in-the/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/if-you-want-to-test-your-memory-try-to-recall-what-you-were-worrying/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [This country is conducive to making money. Once you learn this lesson and make your first deal, you will really appreciate the tools available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/this-country-is-conducive-to-making-money-once-you-learn-this-lesson/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/our-business-in-life-is-not-to-get-ahead-of-others-but-to-get-ahead-3/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

> [Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/since-it-is-not-granted-to-us-to-live-long-let-us-transmit-to/)

[E. Joseph Cossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

[Explore all 25 E. Joseph Cossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/)

## More Ambitious quotes

> [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/)

[Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/)

> [I want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/)

[Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/)

> [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/)

[Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/)

> [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/)

[Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/)

Chris Kirubi

> [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/)

[Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/)

> [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/)

[Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/)

> [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/)

[Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/)

> [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

> [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/)

[Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/)

> [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/)

[Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/)

> [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/)

[Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/)

> [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/)

[Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/)

[Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull out of the rut and strike out on your own. It destroys the nerve of ambitious, imaginative men, and bowing to it has meant sure defeat for more people than any other sickness, mental or physical.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "E. Joseph Cossman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accustomed-to-that-salary-that-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ambitious"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accustomed-to-that-salary-that-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/e-joseph-cossman-23754_ambitious_salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accusto_1875390.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“'Salaryitis' is when you become so accustomed to that salary that you no longer have the gumption to pull…” — E. Joseph Cossman",
                "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": "E. Joseph Cossman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-joseph-cossman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "'Salaryitis' is when you become so...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accustomed-to-that-salary-that-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-joseph-cossman/salaryitis-is-when-you-become-so-accustomed-to-that-salary-that-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
