Quotes about ambition

Good is the enemy of great. That good is the enemy of great is not just a business problem. It is a human problem

Man cannot live on charm alone, and an ambitious man cannot live on anything less than wealth, good social connections and substantial political influence.

Boredom on social occasions is an inescapable hazard for the over-educated, and for the over-ambitious it must be endured.

“You don’t quench ambition by feeding it any more than you quench a fire the same way,” said Cletus. “To an ambitious man, what he already has is nothing. It’s what he doesn’t have that counts.”

Human aspiration is often blind, its motto: I want, therefore I will have.

Is the only challenge in the world to be greed and viciousness? Is the only satisfying power the power of the ascent over men, the only dream, ambition? And must the alternative to greed, evil, ambition—be only sluggishness?

Within, in the lowest region of her soul and mind, unknown to herself, she was still a small voice crying for another glory to salve her hurts. She must better the best, none must withstand her, she must conquer what others dare not face, drink seas and trample mountains. She would never rest till death, the last battle, made mockery of all her victories.

Do not aim low, you will miss the mark. Aim high and you will be on a threshold of bliss.

Ambitious men never believe others aren’t the same.

Everybody wants to be somebody but nobody wants to be just anybody.

I am ambitious, but it's a long-range thing with me. I have my confidential sights on a star, but there's half a lifetime to get to it. Meanwhile I keep my eyes open and am well dressed.

As part of this experiment we must not only accept human nature but work with what we have to make it productive. We inevitably feel the need for status and recognition, so let’s not deny it. Instead, let’s cultivate such status and recognition through our excellent work. We must accept our need to belong to the group and prove our loyalty, but let’s do it in more positive ways—by questioning group decisions that will harm it in the long run, by supplying divergent opinions, by steering the group in a more rational direction, gently and strategically.