Quotes About Ambition

On my solemn oath, Edmund, I'd gladly face not having an acre of land to call my own, nor a penny in the bank, I'd be willing to have no home but the poorhouse in my old age, if I could look back now on having been the fine artist I might have been.

For de small stealing dey puts you in jail, soon or late. But for de big stealing dey puts yo' picture in de paper and yo' statue in de Hall of Fame when you croaks! If dey's one thing I learned in ten years, listenin' to de white quality on de Pullman cars, it's dat same fact. And when I gets a chance to use it -- from stowaway to Emperor in two years. Dat's goin' some!

It's human; we all put self interest first.

In dreams begin responsibilities," as the poet Yeats said,

She was struck, too, by how often in this sad life a person's gifts are useless in helping him fulfill his true desire.

Sometimes it's very difficult to keep momentum when it's you that you are following. - Andrew Lloyd Webber

You are lucky if you know what you want to do in life. You are incredibly lucky if you are able to have a career in it.

Emily Dickinson, the poet, said a beautiful thing. "I dwell in possibility".

The problem was that the Duke wanted status not a job, to be recognised rather than to contribute.

As for Mustafa Kemal, he was to tell the English journalist Grace Ellison in 1923: 'I don't like Napoleon at all. He intruded his person into everything. He fought not for a cause, but for himself. That's why he came to a bad end. It's inevitable for such people.'45

What drives history is the human ambition to alter one's condition to match one's hopes.'3

What I want and what's possible aren't necessarily compatible.

Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.

Most small business owners are not particularly sophisticated business people. That's not a criticism they're passionate about cutting hair or cooking food, and that's why they got in the business, not because they have an MBA.

WHAT THE MIND OF MAN CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, IT CAN ACHIEVE. YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MOST OF THE TIME.

Lo que cuenta no es dónde empiezas, sino dónde decides terminar.

The city was full of everything; it was an inspiring testament to man's ambition and a stark reminder of his animal past.

But another part of me wonders if you do know how smart you are, but you've never tried to tackle a bigger problem because you're afraid you'll fail and then . . . well, and then in your eyes, you'll be a failure to your father.

First ambitions are best. We are less brave later.

One of the reasons why people come to America is that there are fewer speed bumps to the top of the ladder in comparison with other countries.

It was pretty obvious to me that he had just begun working here and was desperately trying to make a good impression. He was the type who would be proving his maturity all his life. He wouldn't appreciate that until he was over sixty.

I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it.

You wanted to know how I did it? That's how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.

Every poet — every storyteller — requires motivation.