to some extent there is a structured game in place and there are those who buy into it and those who don't - for a multititude of reasons and due to a multitude of assumptions, even out of necessity. i see merits to both - a blending, if you will. we all have save a part of ourselves for .. ourselves. there is a linear, hierarchical side of success that i do subscribe to and places within and spaces in between. i'm content to work hard for now, even though it may not be in the most social entrepreneurial way. i'm intrigued to hear more about your perspective.
Yay I haves time, and am only half asleep not 98.3% asleep XD
Now then, I would like to first off state that yeu do still have to work for whot yeu get; I didn't get everything handed to me, so it's not like I'm saying "zomg lethargy is the way to go!" (alright so I'm lethargic but still!)
The point is the specific nuance of 'ambition'. Ambition requires wanting to be at the top, the best, to be better than everyone else. Yeu have to want to climb above everyone else, and lay claim to some fantastic destiny.
Except... it doesn't really work that well in practice.
Those that strive to be the "best", tend to discover that no matter how good yeu are, there's always someone better. No matter how intricate yeur social web of asskissing is, someone's a bigger suckup than yeu are or related to someone yeu're not. That yeu will never truly be 100% #1, because there really is no such thing.
There are people who go their entire lives accumulating wealth and 'power', and then... they die. And the people who knew them die. And then everything they ever built or made eventually disappears and they're forgotten. All they'd ever achieved is lost. There is no purpose in trying to live forever in having a statue after yeurself, because yeu're still DEAD.
Whot ultimately happens, is that the ambitious are left craving ever more, never content, never happy, it's never enough. To reach a goal is just to set another one, and be miserable yeu didn't make that one instead. They spend so much time chasing after the illusive "best" position, that they never actually spend their time DOING anything.
If yeu're viewed as "the best", it's not because yeu actually are the best; those that are "the best" don't have the time nor the resources to show themselves off as such - they're too busy devoting those towards perfecting whot they've been working on. The ones trying to show off how ambitious they are, are instead left blowing all their energy and time on just trying to show off how 'good' they supposedly are, and don't have nearly enough time left over to actually become any better, which means they are eventually surpassed every time.
Now, that doesn't mean that SOME degree of ambition is a bad thing; the desire to better oneself is considered to be a form of ambition. However, by definition, true ambition cannot occur without being practically OCD on the matter.
Those who accomplish the most and are the best at whot they do, generally do so because they enjoy such, and actively want to know all there is, rather than those who are doing it because they feel they have something to prove.
"Success" is often determined by figures such as how much money yeu make per year... and ambition generally strives to be successful. This's a flawed baseline, however, as success is such a narrow and bland term, and not really in touch with reality.
For an example, let's say that someone develops the cure to cancer; rather than market it and get rich, turn it in for a reward, or brag about it, they provide it anonymously, and gain no fame, no fortune, no respect, nothing from it. Yet they saved millions of lives. They failed to be successful in this hypothetical scenario, yet they achieved more than anyone who did achieve 'success' could have dreamed of.
And therein lies much of where true performance comes from. The ability to start the ball rolling, rather than being the one overseeing the end result that was hand fed to them by others.
The manager who makes sure that their name is plastered all over a product and gets a huge bonus for it is rewarded for their ambition; the one who created the design in the first place and sold it for a low cost for someone else to market and develop is rarely heard from.
I have no ambition to be at the top of a company, nor to have my name or face known. I would much rather run things from the shadows, to know that whot I did had a significant impact in some way, and be content with my life as such.
Those in the limelight are always under stress and pressure; to perform, of their fans, of their enemies, of the media, the whole world glares at them, waiting for their next move, eager to see them fail. They burn out, they fall to drugs, to stress, to so many factors.
Those who can revel in simple pleasures are not necessarily simple of mind; to be easily amused is one of the greatest gifts one can have. To be able to live comfortably and do yeur part is all that's truly needed. It is to the point, that those who are ambitious find themselves strangled and choked by their notoriety with whichever group they make themselves a part of, until they're unable to truly affect the changes they so desire to create.
Who is truly the one who has led the better life, the one who has provided more to the world as a whole? The pop singer who spends her life strutting in front of the cameras, playing to the media, or the one who actually had musical talent in the first place and provided her the music, the lyrics, the song to sing, but whose name is never known to the masses?
Ambition relies on popularity, the true ability to change the world, and impact those yeu care about, does not have this flaw.
To steal the definition off wikipedia:
Ambitious persons seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority. Ambition is also the object of this desire.
These are not traits we should truly desire. We should seek to merely better ourselves consistently and be content with improvement, rather than try to be 'the best'. In the end, it's much less stressful, and far more productive as a whole.