Ambiton – A passion that motivates
Life is a competition, a daring adventure, and success usually comes to those who are ambitious. Ambition is a deep desire for achievement and is driven by an inner drive to fulfill one’s dreams.
“Nothing can stop a man with the right mental attitude to achieve his goals; nothing on earth can help a man with the wrong attitude,” says Thomas Jefferson.
Without ambition, life is as tasteless as a dish without salt or spices. No matter how smart and talented a person is, they will not be able to achieve much without ambition. Ambition gives us a purpose in life and helps us escape mediocrity. It does not foresee shortcuts. Sacrifices will have to be made and oppositions overcome. But nothing can compare to the joy of achieving one’s goal.
There are people who are famous today because they did not give up their ambitions. No one believed that a blind boy like David Hartman would one day become a doctor. He was discouraged by family and friends. His applications for admission to various medical schools were ignored until Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia decided to give him a chance. Obstacles that seemed insurmountable were conquered with sheer determination and David completed his course successfully. Those who doubted the ability of a blind man to complete such a rigorous course had to admit that David Hartman was ‘supernormal’.
Bettina Bechgaard, a 19-year-old ballet dancer who was to perform at London’s Sadler Wells Theatre, was struck by a car, leaving her with multiple fractures to her extremities and in a semi-comatose state. But her fierce determination through weeks of her pain got her back on her dancing feet after a long recovery period. Through physical therapy, psychotherapy, and counseling, she Bettina returned to dancing. Her strong ambition took control of her body and allowed her to perform pirouettes and other intricate steps. No one noticed even the hint of a wobble at times.
Poverty did not discourage the ambitions of many famous writers, who in their first years of life had to fight to survive, but never succumbed to defeat. In his autobiography “Tell the story”, Gabriel García Márquez tells how he was desperate to write and be read. He kept scraps of paper in his pocket and kept writing through his scarcity and hardship. He even had to borrow a typewriter to write his manuscript. The world celebrates his rise to fame.
Stephen King, the famous author, was so poor that he had to borrow clothes for his wedding. He lived in a trailer with his wife in a precarious existence. But poverty did not deter him from his ambition to write. He today he is one of the best known and richest writers.
The story of JK Rowling’s rise to fame is incredible. She had to type the manuscript of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’, which was 90,000 words long, on an old typewriter. Every time she was rejected, she had to retype the manuscript, and the rejections were many. Luckily for her, the Bloomsbury CEO’s daughter read the story and loved it. Since then, Rowling has never looked back.
It is said that “the heights reached and held by great men were not reached by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, laboriously climbed during the night.”
Qualities of an ambitious person:
– He is the architect and builder of his life.
– Is organized, focused and self-motivated.
– He’s persistent. “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”
– Keeps ears and eyes open to new ideas.
– Make the most of the opportunities that are presented to you to enhance your development and personal growth.
How to stay true to one’s ambition.
– Believe in the tremendous potential of every human being.
– Believe in yourself and let yourself be driven by your desire to excel.
– Define your values and objectives.
– Point out viable plans to achieve your dreams.
– Never give up.
Some people have bad ambitions. They have a one-sided mind to achieve wealth and power no matter who they trample on and how many lives they destroy. This is not ambition but greed.
Joseph Conrad says: “All ambitions are lawful except those that rise above the miseries and credulities of humanity.”
Oprah Winfrey, now a famous superstar with her own television network, exemplifies someone with ambition and drive. She fought her way through racism, sexual abuse, and obesity to educate herself and rise to the top.
“Never imagine defeat,” says Norman Vincent Peale, “Giving up is the defeat of a personality.” It encourages people to live by the principle “I can if I think I can.”