--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I looked down at the city. Its…" description: "\"“I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful, like gushing oil or some other precious thing Bennie was hoarding for himself, using it up ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jennifer-egan-825_conquer-the-world_i-looked-down-at-the-city-its-extravagan_880094.jpg" --- # I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful… ![“I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful, like gushing oil or some other precious thing Bennie was hoarding for himself, using it up so no one else could get any. I thought: if I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the…” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jennifer-egan-825_conquer-the-world_i-looked-down-at-the-city-its-extravagan_880094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jennifer-egan-825_conquer-the-world_i-looked-down-at-the-city-its-extravagan_880094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfc/jennifer-egan-825_conquer-the-world_i-looked-down-at-the-city-its-extravagan_880094.jpg) > ““I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful, like gushing oil or some other precious thing Bennie was hoarding for himself, using it up so no one else could get any. I thought: if I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.”” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing a grand perspective can inspire ambition, but such a view is rarely granted when most needed. **In simple terms:** A big view fuels drive, yet it’s hard to get when you need it most. Key Takeaway Seek inspiration within, not just from external vistas. Themes ambition inspiration perspective inequality resilience Mood reflective determined hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal growth - overcoming obstacles Key Concepts psychology social stratification motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you create your own empowering perspective? - What internal resources can replace a missing external view? A Different Perspective The view may be illusory; external success often depends on internal effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bennie Hoarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bennie-hoarding-1043862/) [Conquer the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer-the-world/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Felt Wasteful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-wasteful-1043863/) [Looked City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-city-1043864/) [Thing Bennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-bennie-1043865/) [Wasteful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasteful/) ## Related quotes > [“I looked down at this city, this civilization, and I realized just how little I really knew about a world where there was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-b-julien/i-looked-down-at-this-city-this-civilization-and-i-realized-just-how/) [M.B. Julien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-b-julien/) > [Rome is a place almost worn out by being looked at, a city collapsing under the weight of reference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/rome-is-a-place-almost-worn-out-by-being-looked-at-a-city-collapsing/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“He sat down on a grassy bank and looked at the city that surrounded him, and thought, one day he would have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/he-sat-down-on-a-grassy-bank-and-looked-at-the-city-that-surrounded/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/if-i-had-a-view-like-this-to-look-down-on-every-day-i-would-have-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Activism is wasteful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-asawa/activism-is-wasteful/) [Ruth Asawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-asawa/) > [“In Kevin's book, unwitnessed disobedience is wasteful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-kevin-s-book-unwitnessed-disobedience-is-wasteful/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [I waste most of the day, then finally start to write around 3 P.M., totally disgusted with myself for my wasteful nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-waste-most-of-the-day-then-finally-start-to-write-around-3-p-m/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The goal of socialism is a fairer allocation of economic resources, which its advocates often claim will also be a less wasteful one. Socialism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/the-goal-of-socialism-is-a-fairer-allocation-of-economic-resources/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [Ah, wasteful woman, she who may On her sweet self set her own price, Knowing man cannot choose but pay, How has she cheapened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coventry-patmore/ah-wasteful-woman-she-who-may-on-her-sweet-self-set-her-own-price/) [Coventry Patmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coventry-patmore/) > [Before they got vengeful, conservatives had some useful points to make about welfare. Government 'help' is too often guilt-assuaging gesture. It creates layers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/before-they-got-vengeful-conservatives-had-some-useful-points-to-make/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [“If you do not want to stop the wheels of progress; if you do not want to go back to the Dark Ages; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lewis/if-you-do-not-want-to-stop-the-wheels-of-progress-if-you-do-not-want/) [Joseph Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-lewis/) > [Say a child raises this beautiful beet. It's going to give her a sense of ownership, and that changes everything. You stop taking things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chang/say-a-child-raises-this-beautiful-beet-it-s-going-to-give-her-a-sense/) [David Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chang/) > [Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity, because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/obsession-is-the-single-most-wasteful-human-activity-because-with-an/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“As it is, I guess I find “Jack & Diane” a little disgusting. As a child of immigrant professionals, I can’t help but notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/as-it-is-i-guess-i-find-jack-diane-a-little-disgusting-as-a-child-of/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Conquer the world quotes > [“Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/give-me-26-lead-soldiers-and-i-will-conquer-the-world/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“All of us have had this experience. At some point, we have each said through our tears, “I’m suffering for a love that’s not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/all-of-us-have-had-this-experience-at-some-point-we-have-each-said/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I can conquer the world with one hand, as long as you are holding the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-smith/i-can-conquer-the-world-with-one-hand-as-long-as-you-are-holding-the/) [Megan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-smith/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [No matter what you do or say, there will always be a day where its all about you. Where everyone tells you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinahi-martinez/no-matter-what-you-do-or-say-there-will-always-be-a-day-where-its-all/) [Sinahi Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinahi-martinez/) > [“Oh, with you, I could conquer the world - oh, with you I could catch hold of the moon like a little silver sixpence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/oh-with-you-i-could-conquer-the-world-oh-with-you-i-could-catch-hold/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [When I left Cameroon, I was 15 years old... I had one dream - it was to conquer the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-eto-o/when-i-left-cameroon-i-was-15-years-old-i-had-one-dream-it-was-to/) [Samuel Eto'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-eto-o/) > [Give me enough ribbons to place on the tunics of my soldiers and I can conquer the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/give-me-enough-ribbons-to-place-on-the-tunics-of-my-soldiers-and-i/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“As indicated by the book’s sub-title, it is now increasingly obvious that those who would seek to be conquerors of the world in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/as-indicated-by-the-book-s-sub-title-it-is-now-increasingly-obvious/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [Home? I have no home. Hunted, despised, living like an animal. The jungle is my home. But I will show the world that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-wood/home-i-have-no-home-hunted-despised-living-like-an-animal-the-jungle/) [Ed Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-wood/) > [We all say, 'You don't have to run around playing all these tournaments and trying to conquer the world like Dr. Evil.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-appleby/we-all-say-you-don-t-have-to-run-around-playing-all-these-tournaments/) [Stuart Appleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-appleby/) > [When you're given an 'SI' cover, and you take advantage of it, you can conquer the world. Look at Chrissy Teigen. Look at Tyra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-graham/when-you-re-given-an-si-cover-and-you-take-advantage-of-it-you-can/) [Ashley Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-graham/) > [“My name is Ferrum. I was the first, born of the forges, when mankind first began to experiment with iron. I rose from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/my-name-is-ferrum-i-was-the-first-born-of-the-forges-when-mankind/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“You can only achieve what you put your mind into. Now decide, you want to be a loser or you want to conquer the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/you-can-only-achieve-what-you-put-your-mind-into-now-decide-you-want/) [JOHN TASKINSOY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [“I personally believe mavericks are people who write their own rulebook. They are the ones who act first and talk later. They are fiercely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/i-personally-believe-mavericks-are-people-who-write-their-own/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) [Browse all 163 Conquer the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I looked down at the city. Its extravagance felt wasteful, like gushing oil or some other precious thing Bennie was hoarding for himself, using it up so no one else could get any. I thought: if I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. 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