Introduction
People talk about ambition as if it is just one kind of thing. I know that people have very different ambitions: one wants to be a pop star, another wants to run a multinational company. But it seems to me that, underneath all the details, there are maybe three distinct kinds of ambition.
- I want to play my part.
- I want to be top dog.
- I want to make a difference.
They are not incompatible, of course, and each of these goals may be achieved by accident rather than design: as Shakespeare reminds us, some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. But still, our ambition can significantly shape our lives.
Details
I want to play my part
"I want to play my part" is possibly the least recognized of the three, but it may well be the most important. Wanting to be a good father or mother to your children, to make a good home, to be a good employee, a good friend - this is not a lack of ambition, but the height of ambition, requiring more work and dedication than merely getting to the top of some corporate ladder.
A variant of this ambition is: I want to use my gifts. I have the ability to create - painting, music, knitting, sculpture, poetry, film or something else. Or maybe I can perform and entertain others - make them laugh, or move them to tears. I can do something well, I have a gift, and my ambition is to use this gift as fully as I am able.
I want to be top dog
This is usually what people mean when they talk about ambition - success. It might be making a lot of money, being famous, bossing a lot of other people around. In my experience, people with this sort of ambition rarely think about what happens if they succeed. Of course, if you want to make money, there is always more money out there which you can find ways to grab, but after a while you find you have more than you need, and what then? Or you get a lot of people working for you - and what do you do with this massive workforce?
Of course, some people become rich and famous because they have a wonderful gift and are using it well. But they tend not to have a problem with knowing what to do, because using their gift is what they want to do and they are delighted to be able to go on doing it.
I want to make a difference
Generally, this means: I want to leave the world a better place. Or, perhaps, some part of the world.
While I was writing this piece, I came across an article (published by Harvard Business Review) by Greg McKeown: What Will You Create to Make the World Awesome? It suggests a process for evaluating what matters most to you, and ends with the poet Mary Oliver’s question: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
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