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Alysa Beverley Arias

Ms. Starry

English 9 H

13 February 2019

Ambition

There is a quote that I stumbled upon from a website called Success.com that I found

very interesting. It said,“ A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions - Marcus Aurelius”

(Sweatt “13 Motivational Quotes About the Power of Ambition”). Now I would like to know

who in here agrees with that quote? Great, well I disagree. In my opinion, a little ambition is

great for the common person, but excessive amounts to the point where your ambition is the only

thing that drives you, the only thing that defines you, and the only thing that determines your

success? Well that’s something I could never agree with. Here’s why. I believe that excessive

ambition can make you less successful, and less content. Let me explain.

Many people think that success is the the only way to be happy in life, but to think like

that is what can actually make someone to be unsuccessful. An article from Entrepreneur.com

asked and answered the question, “Can Excessive Ambition Actually Ruin Your Chances of

Success?” (DeMers) The author, DeMers, answered the question by providing three main points:

fixation, negative reactions, and self- centeredness. It is like a horrible trip to Disneyland.

Fixation is when you’re so concentrated on flying to California that when your flight gets

cancelled you won’t just find another way to get there because you don’t know how to go

another way. So, you break down, an example of a negative reaction. Even if you do get there,

you were so concentrated on getting yourself to California that you forgot about the rest of your

family. Now you are alone at Disneyland, an example of self-centeredness. Even An article from
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PsychologyToday.com says, “Highly ambitious people are sensitive to resistance and failure, and

experience an almost constant dissatisfaction or frustration.” (Burton). Let’s take our friend,

Macbeth, for example.

In the beginning of Act I, the audience is able to see Macbeth as a noble war hero. As the

play progresses, we can see boundless ambition take control and start to tear at Macbeth’s own

values. He says, “ I have no spur to prick the sides only vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself /And

falls on the other.” (1.7.25-28). Macbeth’s statement means that his ambition was in complete control of

his life, and where did that lead him? Well, it lead him to kill people. It led him to lose all his morals, and

it led him straight to his own death. My point is, there needs to be a balance. In order to be successful, we

have to be in control of our lives, and we need to make sure we don’t fall into the dark hole of ambition

side effects, but how?

Allow us to learn from actors for an example of balance. Madelaine Petsch, an actress on the hit-

show Riverdale, was interviewed for a magazine video segment called “ This is How I Made it”. The

mini-series asks successful people in the entertainment industry how they worked hard to be where they

are today. Pestch mentions that a big part in the industry is being able to be flexible, but still be ambitious

enough to keep going even though booking roles isn’t the easiest. Petsch says, “ In this industry, It is

completely unpredictable.” (Madeline Pestch | This is how I made It). I believe that is something

everyone should understand, because the entertainment industry isn’t the only thing that is unpredictable,

life is.

If we as students can find our own ways to aim high, but stay true to our grounds, we can be

more successful, and more content than we could have ever imagined. It is possible to work hard and stay

focused, without letting our ambitions take over, if just we allow ourselves to learn from the world around

us. Ambition does not drive us, ambition does not define us, and ambition does not determine what our

success rate may be. We build our own tracks to our rollercoaster lives. You can be successful, without

the side effects. If we are balanced, we are in control, no matter the obstacles. Thank you.
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Works Cited

Burton, Neel. “Is Ambition Good or Bad?”. PsychologyToday.

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asdsehttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201411/is-ambition-good-or-bad.

wwwwwAccessed 01 March 2019

Demars, Jayaon. “ Can Excessive Ambition Actually Ruin Your Chances of Success?”

sadfwEntrepreneur.com www.entrepreneur.com Accessed 18 February 2019

“Madelaine Petsch | This is How I Made It”. www.Youtube.com . Cosmopolitan.

fnfrehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-QsAzzwWnA

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. The Language of Literature. McDougal Little,

dhfre2002.

Sweatt, Lydia. “13 Motivational Quotes About the Power of Ambition.” SUCCESS.

sasdewww.success.com. Accessed 14 February 2019.