Good morning All,
I’m back in the UK after a month and a half of resting and travelling around America. It’s been a refreshing time and I'm excited to share some of the things I learnt in due course. For now, I’m excited to share something new with you!
We are starting a new segment in this community…
Introducing: Building In Public.
The goal of this community has always been to help readers become better builders. The journey of self-authoring is taking control of your growth and development which leads to you doing more meaningful work. We build ourselves which helps us build beautiful things.
To aid this, every two weeks, I will send a second newsletter to this community introducing a particular builder to you. I will interview these inspirational and/or interesting figures asking them to reflect on their journey so far. They will share their high points and their regrets and I hope that in reading you will learn a bit about yourself.
One of the most courageous things you can do as a builder is permit people to watch you grow publicly and so I’m excited that these people have agreed to share their journeys so publicly.
The first edition will be out this Friday!
Why has ambition become a dirty work?
In the business world, we can have a strange relationship with ambition. It's a complex trait and one that is often seen in a negative light.
But should it? Ambition is a crucial part of many people's success. Despite the dark side of how it's perceived, ambition can be seen as the fuel that powers someone to the heights of success! To reframe our thinking around ambition, we shouldn't think about how ambitious we should or shouldn't be. Instead, ask this important question: why is ambition important? This is particularly important now at a time when many of us are considering what we want from 2024.
What is ambition?
There are a lot of different ways to define ambition, but the most common (and broadest) definition seems to be: when you have the desire and the determination to work toward and achieve great things. Ambition means having intrinsic motivation — an in
Why is ambition sometimes seen as a bad thing?
One of the lessons from school that always stuck with me was about denotation and connotation. Denotation is what a word literally says — in this case, the above definition of ambition, which makes it sound like a pretty positive trait.
But connotation is the feeling a word evokes, and it's just as important a part of language. For many people, ambition comes with a negative connotation. They feel like it's a negative trait. But why?
In his HBR article, Carucci alludes to one reason: we tend to have a narrow view of what constitutes good or healthy ambition. He writes that ambition is nearly impossible to quantify — yet people tend to think negatively of those with a lower or higher level of ambition than they consider to be ideal.
According to Carucci:
In excess, ambition damages reputations, relationships, and can lead to catastrophic failure. On the other hand, too little ambition can make the person in question look lazy and unmotivated. Further, it can result in mediocre performance, boredom, and a bleak sense of futility.
In other words, a lack of ambition is bad. But too much ambition is also bad. People need just enough — but how much is that, and how do you even measure it? This type of thinking is common, but it turns positive ambition into a moving target that's difficult — if not impossible — to hit.
The issue is further complicated by how ambition is perceived among different demographics. For example, while ambition is often seen as a positive trait for white men, studies show that it's more likely to be perceived negatively when displayed by women or people of color. Growing up, I always felt I had to conceal my ambition because, on one hand, I felt as though it would alienate me from my friends who didn't share the same ambitions and two, it would be frowned upon as being too selfish or self-absorbed. It would take me less to see how my ambition is a key part of what keeps us waking up every morning with the motivation to move to the next step or stage in this journey called life.
Here are some of the reasons you may need to reframe your relationship with ambition.
Ambition helps us achieve goals
It's not always easy to set goals and work toward them. Identifying goals is challenging on its own. Then achieving them takes patience, perseverance, and continued hard work. This means many people give up before the finish line.
But ambition provides the internal drive that can help work toward long-term goals — and continue to set new goals once you've achieved initial success.
Ambition helps motivate us
One reason many people fail to achieve their goals is because of the hard work involved. But ambition comes with a strong desire to succeed, no matter what it takes. For many ambitious people, their ambition is what keeps them moving forward, even when they face challenges and setbacks. The intrinsic motivation that accompanies ambition keeps them on track.
Personal ambition probably looks a little different for everyone, but the concept is the same: an internal drive to always be growing and bettering yourself.
As any ambitious person can attest, no path to success is free of roadblocks. There will always be setbacks — whether they're your own shortcomings or totally outside your control. But ambition gives you the drive it takes to get back up and keep working, even after a setback — or multiple.
Have an amazing week,
M.T. Omoniyi
“As any ambitious person can attest, no path to success is free of roadblocks. There will always be setbacks — whether they're your own shortcomings or totally outside your control. But ambition gives you the drive it takes to get back up and keep working, even after a setback — or multiple." - this is the building blocks for a resilient person. In order to build resilience and grit, we require a healthy amount of ambition to keep us on track.