the.com/ambition
the engine that builds empires and the fire that burns the careless alive
means A strong drive to achieve success, power, or distinction — the hungry desire to do or become something bigger.
from From Latin 'ambitio,' meaning a going around, which came from 'ambire' — to go about ('amb-,' around, plus 'ire,' to go). The picture is literal and political: Roman candidates would walk the streets soliciting votes, going around to win favor. That campaign-trail hustle is the same root that gives us 'ambient' (what goes around you). So ambition was born as the act of canvassing — over time the legwork faded and the burning want behind it took over the word.
- Roman origin
- From ambire: candidates literally walked around begging for votes
- Macbeth's flaw
- Shakespeare called it the spur that overleaps itself
- Brain chemistry
- Dopamine rewards the chase more than the catch
- Deadly sin adjacent
- Medieval thinkers ranked excess ambition near pride
elon musk — founded tesla, spacex, neuralink simultaneously with goal of making humanity multiplanetary
alexander the great — conquered persian empire by age 30, created largest ancient empire stretching from greece to india
oprah winfrey — rose from poverty in rural mississippi to become world's first black female billionaire
steve jobs — drove apple from garage startup to $1 trillion market cap by obsessing over design perfection