Defined as “a burning desire to create,” ambition has been considered for a long time as one of the most important ingredients for success.
But is it enough to just want something?
The universe is indifferent. It doesn’t give you what you want. It doesn’t satisfy your obsessions. Thoughts don’t magically materialize.
Effort. Sacrifice. Discipline. Patience.
Words to be tied to “ambition.”
The desire, however burning, has to direct actions. Decisions.
We need to keep the flame burning, but successful people also know that ambition is also going on in spite of failure, pain, or fatigue.
It’s not about how bad you want it. Most people want it just as bad as you do. It’s about how hard you’re willing to work for it. How much time and effort are you willing to put in.
And then…doors don’t just start to open. We knock the damn things down.
We create our destiny, despite drawbacks and initial failure.
Life has this habit of testing our commitment. Ambition is desire fueled by persistence. Ambition is this nagging feeling that good enough is not enough. Aspiring for greatness, working towards perfection.
You practice and practice and practice until you become great.
You fail, over and over again, and you try just one more time, over and over again, until you eventually succeed.
I wish there were some other way. There isn’t. I know because I’ve been looking for it. I’ve been trying to figure out some sort of talent that does not require me to work hard, some shortcut, some easy way out. Rules, tips, tricks, and all that are never going to give you the results that only hard work can.
You see, ambition has its own gravity pull. It attracts what you need in your life, so you get the job done.
Never give up. Never retreat. Never surrender.
Fight for what you want as if your life depends on it.
Why?
Because it does.
I am going through this same thing . It gets so discouraging but if you’ve been down and back up you know that you will be down again and be back up! Love the post! Needed that today
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Great Post Cristian 🙂 As they say fall 7 times, get up 8! That’s my motto.
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I totally agree! But we can’t lose hope! We need to work hard for what we love
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I think it’s less about ambition and more about single mindedness – literally letting NOTHING distract you from your goal. We can be ambitious and desperate to succeed but we are distracted by things in every day life or by fears and doubts; most successful people have none of this – they wear metaphorical blinkers and focus on what they want and only that. Combine that with relentlessness, belligerence and a degree of ruthlessness and you’ve got your Richard Branson or Steve Jobs. Great post Cristian :O)
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Yes. We can have anything in life, as long as we’re willing to sacrifice everything else for it… But how does one decide what to sacrifice? And for what? That’s the tricky part.
Like that quote I like from “Lion in Winter” – “I could have conquered all of Europe, but I had women in my life.”
How does one go about choosing? Building an empire? A fortune? Or love? Family? Being predictable, reliable, average? A great social life? Knowledge? Power?
I believe that life is a balancing act sometimes. Or, at the very least, we like to pretend it is.
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In my experience, and it is only that, people who are hugely successful don’t think like that. For them there is no question of ‘sacrifice’; they know what they want and they do whatever it takes to get it. They are so utterly focused that ‘choice’ doesn’t even come into it – they go for what they want and everything else falls by the wayside because nothing is more important than what they are aiming for :O)
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Great post. I hate all that new-age “The Secret” crap. Your thoughts don’t make your reality, and the Universe isn’t this benign being that goes around giving middle-class millennials whatever they want. It’s entirely indifferent to our existence. Hard work and determination, not drug-induced hallucinations, are what you need to realize your dreams. Well, except for those who are born into extraordinary wealth and privilege.
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Definitely a great read!
The most integral thing is the effort that you’re putting in something. The universe doesn’t care whether we achieve our dreams our not. It is up to us to make it happen and not just think about it in bed all night
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Yes, I need to remember this! I was better at it when I was younger!
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Blessed you are Christian!
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Thank you, Karen.
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Most welcome Christian. A breed such as yours are few.
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This!
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I so love your definition of ambition. And this piece is so inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! I am glad my post inspired you.
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Insightful and inspiring! Really like your definition of “ambition” a desire to create. What separates the great from the average is the ability to continue to fight the fight days in and days out despite the setbacks, the pain, the fatigue. This ability to persevere can only be sustained if you have faith in your pursuit and in your art. Victory is a product of the fight. No one is entitled to a result. According to Darren Hardy “the compound effect” is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from small seemingly insignificant actions. Small choices + consistency+ time = significant results.
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Yes! Knock those damn doors down! I found this post very empowering. I will be printing out this post so I can draw strength from it.
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Thank you so much, Kristie! Glad you got motivated by this post of mine.
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motivational piece…. thanks Cristian…positivity and patience can help even a dumb person to speak volumes of art…
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Great post and so motivating! You have to do more than just want it you have to work for it as well.
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