Return on Ambition summary

To get a sense of how realistic your ambitions are, it’s important to learn how to check the returns that you’re getting. To do so, you need to keep track of your well-being, growth, and achievement. Think of this as a holistic approach to ambition – one that takes into account all the various aspects that make your life meaningful.

Too often, ambitious people focus so much on their careers that their growth and well-being suffers. Take Sadaffe Abid. After helping found the Kash Foundation, an organization that aids with microfinancing in Pakistan, Abid quickly rose to find herself as the CEO. But she struggled with the role and, eventually, took a step back in order to study entrepreneurship at Harvard. This decision helped her to grow and made her feel more empowered to tackle a challenging role – and today she continues her work with a renewed sense of passion.

At the age of 21, Danish swimmer Pernille Blume looked to retire from the sport as she was losing belief in her abilities. But after speaking with her coach and gaining more ownership over her training, she decided to dive back in and compete. Shortly afterward, Blume qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where she went on to win gold. Blume’s honesty with herself and her renewed commitment ultimately helped her achieve her dreams.

Unlike Pernille Blume, snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis was heavily favored to win a gold medal in snowboard cross at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. And as the final unfolded, Jacobellis found herself so far in the lead that she felt confident enough to attempt a “method grab.” Unfortunately, she didn’t stick the landing and her gold medal disappeared in a flash.

In the 1986 movie Top Gun, the character Maverick is a supremely bold, independent, and competitive fighter pilot competing to win the top spot in flight school. And while his ambitious traits serve him well, at one point, Maverick’s eagerness to be the best leads to a plane crash and the death of his copilot Goose.

While Goose’s death is certainly an extreme – and Hollywood – example of the dark side of ambition, it does illustrate a point. When your ambition is out of balance, you’re more prone to making mistakes, alienating others, and ultimately, losing your sense of self. Just like Maverick did in the aftermath of Goose’s death.

Asked by his student how long it'd take to attain enlightenment, the Zen teacher answered: “Ten years.” The student replied: “But what if I work twice as hard and meditate twice as much?” The teacher answered: “Twenty years.”

The point is that working twice as hard stems as much from impatience as it does from ambition. And in the real world, there are consequences for pushing yourself that hard. Two years after launching the Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington collapsed from exhaustion and sleep deprivation from working 18-hour days. And Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and countless other ventures, told the New York Times that working 120-hour weeks caused him so much stress that he needed medication to fall asleep.

Offered the position of chief scientist at Amazon, Vivienne Ming turned down the role because it didn’t live up to her guiding principle – working to make others’ lives better. Instead, Ming chose a position at Emozie, analyzing mobile data to check a user’s emotional state. Ming accepted the role because Emozie also allowed her to use this data to help bipolar sufferers. And because Ming’s ambition was guided by a set of principles, she found a position that helped her grow, achieve, and take care of her well-being.

If you’ve ever lost the thread of why your goals are important to you, then double back and reflect on your philosophy of ambition. Based on your defining principles, your philosophy will help to evaluate your success and guide you as you continue to grow in your career.