Category Archives: Ambition

Ambition is a get-a-head-ache

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“Ambition is a get-a-head-ache.”

—Vern McClellan, Author of Wise Words from a Wise Guy

Image from Unsplash by Kyle Glenn

For much of my life, I’ve been pretty ambitious. How about you?

Examine your school years, sports, and even sibling rivalries — how much did you want to get ahead and stay ahead?

Where have your ambitions served you well?

Where have they caused you to stumble and experience pain?

Where is getting ahead of others driving your every action, and where is it driving you crazy?

EXERCISE:

How might you relieve the ache of ambition by focusing on getting ahead of yourself instead of always taking on the world?

The forced separation from ordinary ambitions

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“The forced separation from ordinary ambitions temporarily right sizes one’s life.”

—Arthur C. Brooks, faculty member of the Harvard Business School

Image from Pixels by Lukáš Vaňátko

How often do you wake up in the morning with a strong sense of peace and calm?

What percent of the time do your thoughts spring into action with all the to-dos for the day, before your feet even hit the floor?

When do you first check your phone for texts or emails that have piled up overnight?

How many truly important messages do you receive each day, and how many do you consider clutter of junk?

Although we are now well into summer, there is always time to do a bit of spring cleaning.

How would some forced separation from your ordinary ambitions that clutter your various inboxes help you right size your life?

EXERCISE:

Where would unsubscribing and removing various barriers to your aliveness make the biggest difference?

Where can and will you begin today?

Friday Review: Ambition

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Friday Review: Ambition

How well-defined are your ambitions? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

 

 

 

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

 

 

“We are capable of greater things than we realize.”

 

 

 

 

Friday Review: Ambition

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Friday Review: Ambition

How ambitious are you? Here are a few ambition-related posts you may have missed.

 

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

 

 

 

“We remain young to the degree that our ambitions are greater than our memories.”

 

 

 

“Don’t aim for consistently heroic efforts. Aim for being heroic at consistency.”

 

 

 

 

Don’t aim for consistently heroic efforts

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“Don’t aim for consistently heroic efforts. Aim for being heroic at consistency.”

—Brad Stulberg, Performance Coach

Image of a boy shooting an arrow

Image from Unsplash by Niklas Tidbury

We all get excited when we observe heroic acts in the world. These efforts almost always require extraordinary levels of physical, mental, and emotional effort. Unfortunately, as Brad points out, we all know that these efforts are not sustainable.

Although not as sexy, consistency provides a compounding effect that is both sustainable and sticky. These habitual actions often result in excellence in virtually any life domain you choose.

EXERCISE:

Select a single area of your life where you will make the heroic effort to be more consistent. Feel free to reply to this post and share the area you selected.

We remain young to the degree that our ambitions are greater than our memories

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“We remain young to the degree that our ambitions are greater than our memories.”

—Dan Sullivan, co-founder of Strategic Coach

Image from Humanlongevity.com

How long do you expect to live?

Dan Sullivan, the co-founder of Strategic Coach, expects to live 156 years. Over the years, he has had a voracious passion for longevity and optimal health. In the Exponential Wisdom Podcast, he and Peter Diamandis explore where the world is headed by discussing cutting edge technologies and global trends.

Exploring topics such as gene editing, stem cells, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology, they look into the multi-disciplinary crystal ball of the future of health care. Peter Diamandis, founder of Human Longevity, Inc., expects to live 700 years. He is best known for his X-Prize Foundation and competition, and the commercialization of space. Sullivan and Diamandis encourage the rest of us to release the idea of traditional retirement. They council us to stay actively engaged in making our future ambitions far more extraordinary than our past.

EXERCISE:

Consider reading Peter’s book Abundance, or Dan’s book The Laws of Lifetime Growth, to help guide you to an even more extraordinary future.

Check out their podcast on this and other provocative subjects at exponentialwisdom.com

Friday Review of Ambition

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FRIDAY REVIEW: Ambition

How ambitious are you? Here are a few ambition-related posts you may have missed. Click the link to read the full message.

 

“If there is something to gain and nothing to lose by asking, by all means ask.”

 

 

 

 

“Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy.”

 

 

 

“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

 

 

 

 

Remove a Mountain

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“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

-Chinese Proverb

Image of a boy carrying stones

Image from Flickr

Where are you today in regard to some of your most ambitious personal or professional goals for the new year? Are you in full stride, ahead of schedule?

Perhaps you are stalled, have lowered your sights considerably, or have stopped completely.

Today’s quote points to the small, consistent efforts we can all make on a daily basis to begin again, make progress, and eventually move mountains.

EXERCISE:

What are the “small stones” you will move today, to make progress toward your most desired personal or professional objectives?

Friday Review: Ambition

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Friday Review: Ambition

How well-defined are your ambitions? Here are a few ambition-related posts you may have missed. Click on the Quote to read the full message.

 

Just Ask image

 

“If there is something to gain and nothing to lose by asking, by all means ask.”

 

 

Image of seniors rollerblading

“What becomes fragile when we age is not our bodies as much as our egos. The best time to take some daring steps is when we get older.”

 

 

 

Image of hand placing a key in a lock

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

 

 

Fresh Ambition

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“I love the smell of fresh ambition in the morning.”

-Author Unknown

image from aspiringmormonwomen.org

image from aspiringmormonwomen.org

In the late 90s I was lucky to meet Dr. Wayne Dyer, who was the keynote speaker at a coaching conference. Following his presentation, many of us stood in line to purchase Manifest Your Destiny, which was his new book at the time. I also purchased the optional CD titled Meditations to Manifest. I had always wanted to learn to meditate, and felt this was a good time to start.

The CD contained two meditations: one to kick start your morning, and the other to slow down your pace and quiet your mind in the evening, so you could recharge for another day as you slept.

I particularly liked the premise that each of us is endowed with a god-like quality to manifest our days as we choose.

EXERCISE:

What new or augmented morning habit or ritual could you engage in to help you inhale and pursue your highest ambitions each and every day?