Jobs (l) and Wozniak (r)
Time has an interesting article on the web: Ambition: Why Some People are Most Likely to Succeed. In the article, it talks about genetic vs. circumstantial influences that might cause some people to have ambition, while others have less. One example they brought up was Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, who was fired from his company, and then came back to the helm where he currently sits, making Apple cooler and more creative by the day. Steve Wozniak, another co-founder of Apple, on the other hand, pretty much disappeared from public view after retiring as a multimillionaire at the age of 34. What makes some people ambitious? What makes others shun ambition?
I don’t know what causes ambition, but I had an even more elusive question: What does “ambition” mean? I think it has something to do with the hunger for power. If a guy wants to be the best boxer in the world, people rarely say he’s “ambitious.” They’ll say he’s driven or motivated. Doctors are not said to be “ambitious,” even though it’s hard to become a doctor. Instead, they’re just doing it for the common good. To be ambitious, you need to be willing to fight for power or rank. It’s self-aggrandizing. Ambition can be anything related to this self-aggrandizement, as long as it focuses on power–getting political office, making enough money to be heard, marrying up. It’s not just money for money’s sake; it’s power.
Keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily bad, per se. A while ago, I blogged about Andrew Young, John Edwards’s campaign aid who lied to save his boss by saying that he had impregnated Rielle Hunter. I said, at the time, that I thought what Young did was much worse than what Edwards did since he was subjecting his family to public scrutiny. Now Young is garnering attention with a brand new book coming out and a story on 20/20. I watched 20/20 (you can currently see the episode here), and as it turns out, he and his wife were doing it for the money and power. They were livin’ large. They were ambitious. I still think what they did was stupid, but the ambition at least lends a modicum of respect to their stupidity.
Here’s the dictionary definition:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/ambition
1 a : an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power b : desire to achieve a particular end
2 : the object of ambition <her ambition is to start her own business>
3 : a desire for activity or exertion <felt sick and had no ambition>
Note the remarks in the synonyms:
ambition applies to the desire for personal advancement or preferment and may suggest equally a praiseworthy or an inordinate desire <driven by ambition>.
I realize that I myself have very little ambition. Almost none. I want to finish this novel, and that’s basically it. Then when I’m done, maybe I can write another. The rest of the time, I’m content just to hang out with the wife and kids. The novel is at 20,000 words right now, which means I probably need five times that. It’s not really an ambition, just a goal. Sometimes, though, I wish I had ambition. It would make life more exciting.
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Jaehwan: Not to get too personal, but what is your passion?
I think discovering what one’s passion in life is more important than ambition–and will prove much more personally fulfilling.
Ambition, as you have suggested, is about acquisition of power above all else. Ambition is not concerned with the intrinsic value of an activity, as this activity is just a means to an end.
Passion, on the other hand, is about finding that “thing” which you find intrinsically compelling and speaks to you at a deep personal level. It moves you emotionally, intellectually, and otherwise.
It’s become something of a cliche, but Joseph Campbell’s idea about “following your bliss” is true.
http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=31
Here’s an interesting thing to ponder:
If you say that someone has “passion” for politics, more likely than not, you’re talking about a columnist or blogger. A passion for politics means that you enjoy writing about it, dissecting it, and understanding it.
On the other hand, people says that politicians have “ambition.” This is probably because politicians have to jostle and elbow their way to the front. We don’t say they have a “passion” for the elbowing–probably because no one really likes it–but we say they have “ambition.”
I think “ambition” is often attractive. We like hearing from and talking to people who want to get ahead. We admire their drive, and we often want to help them achieve what they want. Life is actually quite boring without ambitious people. It’s an interesting concept because it really does go both ways.