--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great many people go after success…" description: "\"A great many people go after success simply for the shiny prizes it brings...And nowhere is it pursued more ardently than in the city of New York.\" — S..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg" --- # A great many people go after success simply for the shiny… ![“A great many people go after success simply for the shiny prizes it brings...And nowhere is it pursued more ardently than in the city of New York.” quote by Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg) > “A great many people go after success simply for the shiny prizes it brings...And nowhere is it pursued more ardently than in the city of New York.” [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People chase success for its visible rewards, especially in a city that glorifies achievement. **In simple terms:** Success is often pursued for its fame and wealth. Key Takeaway Reflect on why you seek success. Themes ambition materialism city life competition Mood reflective critical Type observational sociological When to use this quote - career advancement - entrepreneurship - media coverage - personal branding Key Concepts social status reward motivation cultural pressure Questions to Reflect On - What truly motivates your goals? - How does NYC culture shape your definition of success? A Different Perspective Focusing only on external rewards can neglect personal fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ardently City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ardently-city-3901808/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-success/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Prizes Brings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes-brings-3901806/) [Pursued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued/) [Pursued Ardently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued-ardently-3901805/) [Shiny Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shiny-prizes-3901807/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think that if they push other people out of the way, fewer people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-game-they-think-that-if-they/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [I believe that in order to be a good leader you must understand the value of praising people to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/i-believe-that-in-order-to-be-a-good-leader-you-must-understand-the/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [I'm one of those people for whom success is one thing, but significance is another. If I can have both, I'm living the dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romany-malco/i-m-one-of-those-people-for-whom-success-is-one-thing-but/) [Romany Malco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romany-malco/) > [You want to know what scares people? Success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/you-want-to-know-what-scares-people-success/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [You cannot keep determined people for success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/you-cannot-keep-determined-people-for-success/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [Remember to respect people around you during your success as you have to face them whenever you meet failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/remember-to-respect-people-around-you-during-your-success-as-you-have/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Our ambition isn't just to be big, it's to be listened to and supported by people. And to have the success - if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/our-ambition-isn-t-just-to-be-big-it-s-to-be-listened-to-and/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [“Over the years I’ve learned that investing in other people’s success doesn’t just make them more likely to enjoy working with me. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hadfield/over-the-years-i-ve-learned-that-investing-in-other-people-s-success/) [Chris Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hadfield/) > [When you hit 30, it's that time of self-reflection. Some people are a success. Some people feel like they haven't achieved what they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayden-schlossberg/when-you-hit-30-it-s-that-time-of-self-reflection-some-people-are-a/) [Hayden Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayden-schlossberg/) > [You know what scare people to much... it's SUCCESS!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/you-know-what-scare-people-to-much-it-s-success/) [Junior Dè Rèál Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-d-r-l-testament/) > [I saw a lot of people have success handed to them that then exploited it. They didn't protect it or cherish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-paul/i-saw-a-lot-of-people-have-success-handed-to-them-that-then-exploited/) [Aaron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-paul/) > [This is what I find most magnetic about successful givers: they get to the top without cutting others down, finding ways of expanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-what-i-find-most-magnetic-about-successful-givers-they-get-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was a time of life, she understood, in which you might not know what you were, but that was all right. You judged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/this-was-a-time-of-life-she-understood-in-which-you-might-not-know/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I've loved just being a part of other people's success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urijah-faber/i-ve-loved-just-being-a-part-of-other-people-s-success/) [Urijah Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urijah-faber/) > [Leaders don't correct people to success as much as believe them to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/leaders-don-t-correct-people-to-success-as-much-as-believe-them-to-it/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) ## More by Stephen Birmingham > [“New York horses were driven until they expired, and as many as a hundred horses collapsed daily in the streets. It was often a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/new-york-horses-were-driven-until-they-expired-and-as-many-as-a/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“also introduced another controversial feature—an elevator, described as a “perpendicular railway intersecting each story.” Theretofore, elevators had been installed only in a few of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/also-introduced-another-controversial-feature-an-elevator-described/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [What is known as success assumes nearly as many aliases as there are those who seek it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/what-is-known-as-success-assumes-nearly-as-many-aliases-as-there-are/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“New York, in the late nineteenth century, was also an astonishingly dirty city for a variety of reasons. Only about half of New York’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/new-york-in-the-late-nineteenth-century-was-also-an-astonishingly/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“How New York has fallen off during the last forty years! Its intellect and culture have been diluted and swamped by a great flood-tide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/how-new-york-has-fallen-off-during-the-last-forty-years-its-intellect/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“Isabella Boyer Singer, the wife with whom Singer had spent most of his final years, in her claim to be the legal widow. Isabella…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/isabella-boyer-singer-the-wife-with-whom-singer-had-spent-most-of-his/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“seventeen rooms with six bathrooms and eight working fireplaces for $650. 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But the astonishing thing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/seventeen-rooms-with-six-bathrooms-and-eight-working-fireplaces-for/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“Sophisticated New Yorkers complained that their city had none of the exuberance and spectacle of Paris—no Place de l’Étoile, no Place de la Concorde,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/sophisticated-new-yorkers-complained-that-their-city-had-none-of-the/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“when America entered the era of the automobile, there was a noticeable tendency for the affluent of American cities to build their homes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/when-america-entered-the-era-of-the-automobile-there-was-a-noticeable/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“In the summer the whole family would take the night boat to Albany. You left in the evening and arrived in the morning. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/in-the-summer-the-whole-family-would-take-the-night-boat-to-albany/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“Anything of even mildly antiquarian or historic interest was the target of destruction, and anyone who deplored the way the city was remaking itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/anything-of-even-mildly-antiquarian-or-historic-interest-was-the/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [What is known as success assumes nearly as many aliases as there are those who seek it. Like love, it can come to commoners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/what-is-known-as-success-assumes-nearly-as-many-aliases-as-there-are-2/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“The public could be made to want anything, if it were sold to them the right way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/the-public-could-be-made-to-want-anything-if-it-were-sold-to-them-the/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) > [“During the summers the building was empty,” she reminisced. “Everybody went away, to Long Island, or Westchester, or the Adirondacks, or the Jersey Shore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/during-the-summers-the-building-was-empty-she-reminisced-everybody/) [Stephen Birmingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) [Explore all 15 Stephen Birmingham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. 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I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great many people go after success simply for the shiny prizes it brings...And nowhere is it pursued more ardently than in the city of New York.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Birmingham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/a-great-many-people-go-after-success-simply-for-the-shiny-prizes-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/a-great-many-people-go-after-success-simply-for-the-shiny-prizes-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9da/stephen-birmingham-33206_cities_a-great-many-people-go-after-success-sim_2056539.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great many people go after success simply for the shiny prizes it brings...And nowhere is it pursued more…” — Stephen Birmingham", "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": "Stephen Birmingham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-birmingham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great many people go after...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/a-great-many-people-go-after-success-simply-for-the-shiny-prizes-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-birmingham/a-great-many-people-go-after-success-simply-for-the-shiny-prizes-it/#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 } } ] } ```