What Comes After Ambition?

 I think ambition can be a lot more collective and a lot more expansive than it’s given credit for. And I think that when we funnel into this completely work driven, completely output driven striving, we really miss the imaginative or community centered components of it that I think most of us are ambitious about having in our lives in some fo

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“Yes, I’m ambitious,” a friend told me recently, “but climbing the corporate ladder does not interest me like it used to. A title, a bump in pay—it’s not satisfying. What I need to feel successful and fulfilled is completely different. Am I doing something that brings satisfaction? Do I feel like I’m learning? Do I feel like I’m contributing? Do I ... See more

There is a... relief... in admitting that your ambition is no longer that useful. I’ve wasted a lot of energy on personal ambition. But achievement never assuaged a feeling that my work isn’t necessary. The world may not need another thing, but it does need another person who derives value from elevating others. I’ve learned that I’d rather be forg... See more