Quit Settling for Less: What Does Ambition Mean?
This is the era of opportunities.
Easy to set up business models.
Digital access like never before.
One DM away from connecting with a big name.
However, ambition seems to be lacking.
Groups of people lack heart.
Yes, there are pockets of people who have ambition at a peak level.
But why not more?
There are some uncomfortable truths with this one.
Ambition is different than motivation.
Motivation can exist without ambition.
But ambition cannot exist without motivation.
(In this post, I’m going to share the difference between fleeting motivation and long-lasting motivation).
Ambition requires a level of pain to be PEAK motivated.
While the masses cower at that pain, a pocket of people are rising to the occasion.
What Does Ambition Mean?
Ambition is created from a push-pull dynamic.
This is when a person is pushing themselves away from a certain point.
And they are pulling themselves towards a certain point.
Running away from darkness and running towards the light.
‘Can you dumb it down even more?’
Even more??
‘Yes, just a bit more. I’m feeling extra slow today.’
Sure.
Ambition means to be a lifelong underdog.
This is the person who moves with a chip on their shoulder.
They quite frankly don’t give a fuck about all the impressing that snobby people need to do.
All the fake shit that fake people find importance in.
For them, it’s the chip on their shoulder, first.
All else comes secondary.
How to Move with a Chip on the Shoulder
Being an underdog is what creates a highly elevated individual.
Find the most ambitious person you know…
I guarantee that they were last picked in something.
At one point or another, they were a loser.
Maybe in finances, fitness, relationships, skillsets, etc.
That’s how the pain was given.
This pain can be tied into an electrical engineering concept of being ‘grounded.’
Without grounding a circuit, it’s impossible for the current to flow in a set direction.
When the circuit is grounded, now the current flows.
It’s step 1 of ambition to feel pain before all else.
That’s why early on, I said that motivation can exist without ambition.
But ambition cannot exist without motivation.
You ever seen someone looking to start a new goal with a sparkle in their eye?
They were like, ‘it would be awfully nice to reach this goal.’
For them, they are motivated to start.
However, in this situation, there was no pain that created this motivation.
‘Do you think this motivation will be long-lasting?’
I doubt it.
This sort of motivation is what self-improvement shits on.
They create quotes like, ‘motivation doesn’t last, but discipline does.’
Although this quote is true, it’s not fully accurate.
The example I gave of the guy being motivated without a glimmer of pain is what I call short-term motivation.
Long-term motivation is born from pain. That pain leads to ambition.
Let’s say this guy finds the dangers of not being in shape.
Lower chance of seeing their grandkids, possible heart attack, poor energy for life.
This will create tension.
The tension will plant the seed for the motivation that LASTS.
How to Light the Fire in your Belly Once Again
‘Armani, so I have a question.’
Shoot.
‘I used to be very ambitious. But as of late, I haven’t been performing at high levels. Any idea why?’
Yes. It’s because you forgot your roots.
When you see a tree, what do you see?
‘A trunk, branch, and leaves.’
What don’t you see?
‘Hm…is this a trick question?
No. What is holding the tree up?
‘The roots.’
Yes, that’s correct.
You’re lacking ambition now because you went soft.
You just see what’s above the ground. The trunk, branches, and leaves.
Your wins, luxury, and joy.
But you haven’t acknowledged your roots in a while.
Heartache, doubt, and setback after setback.
The ambition formula cannot exist without pain.
Ambition without a lick of pain creates fleeting motivation.
Not the long-lasting one.
So to create that ambition again, it’s about remembering the roots.
Who you once were when it all began…
What if You Were Never Ambitions, Now What?
Can I give you a truth?
‘Sure.’
Not everyone has what it takes.
This isn’t one of those posts where I logically break down why you should be ambitious.
That’s because ambition is reserved for a VERY rare group of people.
Probably less than 1 percent of the population.
They show their faces in different ways in different industries.
And they are all fluent in one language.
‘Which is?’
Work ethic.
That’s what the quote ‘real recognizes real’ means.
It’s basically implying that people with work ethic can spot others with work ethic.
This post was more so to be a reminder to people on where they stand.
Even ambitious people can occasionally forget what’s underneath the ground…the roots.
Although this blog predominantly covers communication skills, every now and then, I drop a post on mindset.
That’s because ambitious people have problems like everyone else.
Due to the lack of ambitious people in society, it can be very easy to sway off track.
At this point, someone who is ambitious is simply using this blog post as a reminder for why they were striving for greatness in the first place.
‘So is all hope lost if I’m not already ambitious?’
Not really.
However, you do need to do some soul searching.
I can logically break down why you should expect more out of yourself.
But all I’ll be doing is pumping you up with short-term motivation.
Only YOU can look into the mirror and actively scare yourself to inspire yourself.
- It takes introspection to discover your real self.
- It takes ambition to bring out your best self.
Some do 1.
Few do 2.
And the fewest do 1 and 2.
Underdog For Life
I rather be underrated rather than overrated.
That’s how my mind has been primed.
I’m not really a fancy kind of guy.
Never understood how someone could spend 500 dollars on a haircut.
I like my 20 dollar haircuts plus the tips.
The underdog is a narrative that gives you life.
The ego may be like, ‘I don’t want to get under anything!’
Your ego will often try to diminish the concept of under.
However, ambitious people are beyond vain pride.
What does it mean to ‘understand’ something?
It means to stand under.
Only then will you really learn.
The underdog is in a lifelong competition with their prior day self.
They are born from the beautiful blend of running away from pain and running full speed towards glory.
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– ArmaniTalks 
