Ambition And Greed

When most people think of the word ambition, they often think of it in a positive light; they do not realize that this personality trait is actually a double-edged sword. Ambition mixed with the right amount of inspiration can often lead to success and power, but ambition is often a difficult hunger to satisfy. One of the most basic aspirations all humans have wanted to achieve is fame and fortune. It has been desired since before the Common Era, and is still being sought by many today. In fact, a study performed in 2012 found that being famous was the most popular goal in a group of children from the ages of 10 to 12; the biggest reasons these children sought fame was because of their vulnerability, the celebrity of the lifestyle, they believe

they have what it takes, and they are determined to be (Kaufman). Ambition and determination are traits that lead many to successful and accomplished lives, but when they become too much, they can be incredibly harmful to those who possess these traits. Ambition is not as virtuous of a trait many originally thought. Although, overall, ambition is the stepping stone to success, it can be just as much of a disadvantage as it is an advantage. Ambition is the driving force of letting one accomplish their goals, even if that means they have to sacrifice what means a lot to them.
Without ambitious people, we would never have skyscrapers, airplanes, or many of the other conveniences we now use every day; if no one had dreamed of these ideas and brought them to reality, we would still be sitting in the dark, hunting for our food. Ambition has been the leading source of success for humans since the Renaissance age. Kings wanted to expand their wealth and kingdoms, so they grew their empires into many of the countries we know today. American would not have been colonized by the Europeans so early on if Christopher Columbus would not have been searching for a faster trade route. Americans would not have started pushing west without the belief of manifest destiny and the belief that the west coast held a brighter future for them. Ambition is the motivation that keeps humans, as a species, moving toward a better future. Although, it seems, everyone’s ambition is not on the same page. Some may experience it to a much higher degree than others, it is even believed that some people do not even contain ambition. Dean Simonton, a psychiatrist at the University of California, believes that “Ambition is energy and determination, but it calls for goals too. People with goals, but no energy, are the ones who wind up sitting on the couch saying 'One day I'm going to build a better mousetrap.' People with energy, but no clear goals, just dissipate themselves in one desultory project after the next” (Kluger 2). If people do not have the motivation to better themselves or society, nothing will ever change and we would be stuck in the same place. Ambition is important in order for our society to succeed; but too much ambition can be just as harmful to our society as not having any.
There is a fine line between ambition and greed.

It is very easy to get caught up in the glamour of success and affluence and lose your way. Some people may over reach their worth self-destruct due to their hunger for ambition. While chasing their dreams, many will do all they can to obtain their goal, including sacrificing what is most important to them. Larry Flynt, an American businessman was once recorded saying “The only question to ask yourself is, how much are you willing to sacrifice to achieve this success?” (Young). Even without knowing it, in order to achieve your dreams, you will have to sacrifice something. It may only seem like one family outing, or one day with your friends, but in the end it adds up until eventually your tunnel-vision could possibly lead to the loss of loved ones. Ambition can not only be harmful to the people around the individual, but also the individual itself. Ambitious people are incredibly difficult to satisfy; many suffer from the need to make everything perfect that they do not realize that it is stunting their personal growth and could possibly cause them deep psychological harm. This will cause them to never believe they are good enough and they will critique themselves harder than any others. Ambition is a never-ending cycle of finding a goal and achieving the goal; once one goal is met, ambitious people try and think of another, more difficult goal to obtain in order to keep busy. They will continue this cycle until they find a goal that they cannot accomplish and that would lead to their downfall. Many people remember Napoleon Bonaparte as a great French military leader, but his ambitions and greed led him to be exiled in the year 1814. After gaining the control on most of Europe, Bonaparte still wanted to add more land to the French territories. Bonaparte marched his troops into Russia in hopes of gaining some territory, but the Russian winter, paired with disease and attacks from the Russians, wiped out the majority

of Bonaparte’s army (Greenspan). Napoleon Bonaparte let his greed and ambition outweigh his logic and led to his infamous downfall and exile. When one has reached all of their potential goals, it becomes difficult for them to find something new to strive for. As time goes on, most of the goals become more self-centered and harder to obtain’ which will lead them into a self-mad spiral. Ambition has its consequences, like most other things, but as long as it is controlled, it can lead individuals to live happy lives.