--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Combine a certain amount of indifference…" description: "\"Combine a certain amount of indifference with your ambition. Be carefully careless. If you don't succeed today, there is always tomorrow.\" — William Me..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/william-merritt-chase-33855_ambition_combine-a-certain-amount-of-indifference_775655.jpg" --- # Combine a certain amount of indifference with your… ![“Combine a certain amount of indifference with your ambition. Be carefully careless. If you don't succeed today, there is always tomorrow.” quote by William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/william-merritt-chase-33855_ambition_combine-a-certain-amount-of-indifference_775655.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/william-merritt-chase-33855_ambition_combine-a-certain-amount-of-indifference_775655.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/william-merritt-chase-33855_ambition_combine-a-certain-amount-of-indifference_775655.jpg) > “Combine a certain amount of indifference with your ambition. Be carefully careless. If you don't succeed today, there is always tomorrow.” [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing ambition with detachment reduces pressure; failure today is not final, tomorrow offers new chances. **In simple terms:** Be ambitious yet indifferent to outcomes. Key Takeaway Maintain ambition, accept setbacks. Themes ambition resilience detachment Mood determined reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - goal setting Key Concepts psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay motivated after failure? - What role does indifference play in success? A Different Perspective Over‑detachment may lead to apathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) ## Related quotes > [To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/to-succeed-today-you-have-to-set-priorities-decide-what-you-stand-for/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [The advice that I like to give young women to succeed today in tech is to have a man's name, like Randi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randi-zuckerberg/the-advice-that-i-like-to-give-young-women-to-succeed-today-in-tech/) [Randi Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randi-zuckerberg/) > [Just because you failed yesterday it doesn't mean that you can't succeed today or tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/just-because-you-failed-yesterday-it-doesn-t-mean-that-you-can-t/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“If we’re honest, what makes something impossible is not our fear. Rather, it is our indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-we-re-honest-what-makes-something-impossible-is-not-our-fear/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are most required. I am tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/galvanized-people-can-do-careless-things-it-is-in-the-extreme-and/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Phaedra shook her head. “If your people mean no offense, they should not speak their thoughts out loud in front of their children, Tesadora.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/phaedra-shook-her-head-if-your-people-mean-no-offense-they-should-not/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-paradox-of-courage-is-that-a-man-must-be-a-little-careless-of-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being carefree, you can fit in anywhere. If you’re not carefree you keep on bumping up against things. 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They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [And hast thou sworn on every slight pretence, Till perjuries are common as bad pence, While thousands, careless of the damning sin, Kiss the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/and-hast-thou-sworn-on-every-slight-pretence-till-perjuries-are/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [It is the habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/it-is-the-habit-of-mankind-to-entrust-to-careless-hope-what-they-long/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [the greater part of the suffering in the world is caused not by wicked intents and hard hearts, but by the careless desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marah-ellis-ryan/the-greater-part-of-the-suffering-in-the-world-is-caused-not-by/) [Marah Ellis Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marah-ellis-ryan/) > [“The rich eat life, the poor eat death; so what is the problem they ask?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-rich-eat-life-the-poor-eat-death-so-what-is-the-problem-they-ask/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) ## More by William Merritt Chase > [Life is very short... but I would like to live four times and if I could, I would set out to do no other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/life-is-very-short-but-i-would-like-to-live-four-times-and-if-i-could/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [You must try to match your colors as nearly as you can to those you see before you, and you must study the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/you-must-try-to-match-your-colors-as-nearly-as-you-can-to-those-you/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [I don't believe in making pencil sketches and then painting landscape in your studio. You must be right under the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/i-don-t-believe-in-making-pencil-sketches-and-then-painting-landscape/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Do not try to paint the grandiose thing. Paint the commonplace so that it will be distinguished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/do-not-try-to-paint-the-grandiose-thing-paint-the-commonplace-so-that/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [I am not sure that it is a bad thing to go to a school, as I did, where the boys threw things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/i-am-not-sure-that-it-is-a-bad-thing-to-go-to-a-school-as-i-did-where/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Association with my pupils has kept me young in my work. Criticism of their work has kept my own point of view clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/association-with-my-pupils-has-kept-me-young-in-my-work-criticism-of/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Don't try to make comparisons between your own pictures. Forget what you have done and think only of making the best of what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/don-t-try-to-make-comparisons-between-your-own-pictures-forget-what/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Diversity...is not casual liberal tolerance of anything not yourself. It is not polite accommodation. Instead, diversity is, in action, the sometimes painful awareness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/diversity-is-not-casual-liberal-tolerance-of-anything-not-yourself-it/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Design is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/design-is-everything/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [It takes two to paint. One to paint, the other to stand by with an axe to kill him before he spoils it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/it-takes-two-to-paint-one-to-paint-the-other-to-stand-by-with-an-axe/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [My God, I'd rather go to Europe than go to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/my-god-i-d-rather-go-to-europe-than-go-to-heaven/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [You must try to match your colors as nearly as you can to those you see before you, and you must study the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/you-must-try-to-match-your-colors-as-nearly-as-you-can-to-those-you-2/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) > [Do not imagine that I would disregard that thing that lies beneath the mask... but be sure that when the outside is rightly seen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-merritt-chase/do-not-imagine-that-i-would-disregard-that-thing-that-lies-beneath/) [William Merritt Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) [Explore all 14 William Merritt Chase quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-merritt-chase/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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 was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Combine a certain amount of indifference with your ambition. 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