Ambition quotes

Ambition

2.3K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

2.3K quotes

Explore further

Browse quotes that often appear alongside ambition — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.

Quote collection

Ambition quotes (page 10 of 114)

Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.

John Adams Founding Father, Politician
Ambition

"Ambition is the subtlest beast of the intellectual and moral field. It is wonderfully adroit in concealing itself from its owner."

Read quote 11 likes
C. S. Lewis Writer, Scholar
Ambition

"Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire to get ahead of other people - which is what I think it does mean - then it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good. It isn't wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the other actors is a bad one."

Read quote 10 likes
Eleanor Roosevelt Political Activist, Diplomat
Ambition

"Your ambition should be to get as much life out of living as you possibly can, as much enjoyment, as much interest, as much experience, as much understanding. Not simply be what is generally called a 'success.'"

Read quote 10 likes
Confucius Philosopher
Ambition

"From the loving example of one family a whole State may become loving, and from its courtesies, courteous; while from the ambition and perverseness of the one man the whole State may be thrown into rebellious disorder. Such is the nature of influence."

Read quote 10 likes
Ayn Rand Philosopher, Novelist
Ambition

"Politically, the goal of today’s dominant trend is statism. Philosophically, the goal is the obliteration of reason; psychologically, it is the erosion of ambition."

Read quote 10 likes
Woodrow Wilson Politician
Ambition

"I have had the accomplishment of something like this at heart ever since I was a boy.... So I feel tonight like the man who is lodging happily in the inn which lies half way along the journey and that in time, with a fresh impulse, we shall go the rest of the journey and sleep at the journey's end like men with a quiet conscience."

Read quote 10 likes
Margaret Thatcher Politician
Ambition

"Object to merit and distinction, and you're setting your face against quality, independence, originality, genius against all the richness and variety of life. When you hold back the successful, you penalize those who need help."

Read quote 10 likes
Leonardo da Vinci Artist, Scientist, Inventor
Ambition

"It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall be a cause of suffering, and they shall possess neither the profit nor the beauty of the world."

Read quote 10 likes