Are you consumed with ambition or do you control ambition using it as a tool to get ahead?
Ambition can either make us or break us.
For many people, their ambition takes over their lives leaving them with LESS independence, lack of control or even unhappiness and regret.
Ambition is perhaps the most misunderstood and misused emotion that we have – especially those of us who are driven toward business and personal success.
Here Are 5 Ways To Leverage Ambition Instead of Being Consumed With It
Let’s start with the official definition of ambition: A strong desire to do or achieve something.
Sounds simple enough, but here’s where things start to go wrong.
1. Blind vs Directed Ambition
In today’s Hustle, “Fake it until you make it” society, the concept of ambition is touted as a goal in itself.
When you’re young and first starting out, blind ambition can be useful as a way to quickly ascend…
That’s important ONLY as a testing ground.
You get to try MORE things FASTER, which is the way to find out what you REALLY want to focus on next.
Challenge is, people live their entire lives in a state of blind ambition resulting in regret and burnout
Which leads too…
2. Who’s Goals Are You Chasing?
Ambition is a desirable trait if you are striving toward values and goals that are important to YOU!
Unfortunately, in this age of advertising and social media, most goals we chase end up to be someone else’s target.
Ambition drives focus and focus drives sacrifice…when we sacrifice what we REALLY want for what we THINK we want…
That’s where things go off the rails
3. Controlled Ambition
As I get older, I look back and see my best accomplishments have happened when I controlled my ambition.
Start with a BIG goal, then set out an ambitious plan for achieving that goal.
Apply short bursts of intense ambition leading to massive returns.
This is your way of controlling and leveraging ambition without it taking over your entire life.
Not only are you directing your ambition, you are using it strategically to achieve your desired outcome.
One week, that may mean you obsess about your goal at the expense of everything else in your life. You know, however, that this surge in focus is temporary and that you can change your focus anytime you want.
In that way, you leverage this intense effort without it consuming you.
4. Obsession & Ambition
Many people dislike terms like “Hustle”, “Obsessed” and even “Ambition”…
The reason is either they feel it leaves one unbalanced and somehow shallow or above what is required to be giving and social.
Or, that is somehow misused for nefarious purposes.
Any mindset, tool, or life strategy can be misused…is that the reason to condemn the practice?
Done correctly, obsession and ambition can be used for immense positivity and social good.
The key is making sure you have control and that you are using these powers for GOOD as well as aligning them with your own meaningful goals.
5. Ambition and Sacrifice
The real reason I find many people fail to apply ambition OR refuse to DIRECT it in their life is…the COST!
The cost is simple, in order to intensely focus your ambition you must CHOOSE that which you will focus.
Choosing means sacrifice…you choose one priority over many other options.
When you choose what to intensely focus on and apply your ambition, our brain knows that means NOT giving many other things focus.
Most of us struggle giving up things today with the promise that focused ambition will lead to progress in the future
The surefire way to prevent yourself from giving in to this choice is to lower the perceived cost of the choice and elevate the cost of remaining where you are.
Focused ambition is THE single most powerful differentiator for personal and business growth.
Anytime we launch a new product, focus on a new marketing campaign or just manage the substantial growth in our company we FOCUS our ambition on the important steps to make these activities successful.
When you learn to direct and control your ambition, you’ll ramp up achievement extremely fast.
