Ambition is the key to success!

So, I hear all this # from people about there not being any work around, the economy being bad, being stuck in a dead-end job, being in a #ty relationship, being bored with your life, everything, anything, whatever. You get the general idea. And then the more positively dispositioned human being that I am suggest they make a change for the better in their life - and I get a slew of objections from them. "But, but, but".

But nothing.

Look, I'm no expert on life, and I've only lived for twenty-five years. In the beginning of those twenty-five years I was a depressing guy who couldn't find work, because of what I suspect now was two reasons; Firstly, because I had no direction in life - I didn't know what I wanted to do. And secondly, because of the first, I lacked aspirations at all. I had no ambition to do anything.

Ambition is the key to success. Or, as Gordon Gecko would have said it in the 80's - Greed is good. That goes also for life itself, and not just for money.

I've been proven time and again that when I show ambition and aim for something, it usually comes true. I could give a lot of examples - How I was accepted into a Swedish university to study archaeology. How I was accepted into the Swedish Army (A hundred times as difficult as joining the US Army, since we have very limited recruitment). How I was able to, thanks to this, amass the funds to go to the US and meet the girl of my dreams, something I would never before have thought possible. Since my arrival to the US I have been offered no less than two jobs, one by a friend, and one by my Krav Maga instructor.

Unfortunately, I cannot take either, as I have no work permit yet. BUT, I have the ambition to become an American citizen - and because I have that (Love for my girlfriend doesn't hinder my cause either), I know one day I will reach that goal.

Without the ambition I had to join the Army... Without the ambition I had to make my life better, to meet my girlfriend in person, to forge a lasting relationship with her, I would've still been stuck in Sweden working as a bloody low-end gardener on the summers, with no chance of ever finding any real work. Because without that ambition, I would never have had any direction in which to take my life.

Today I know exactly what direction to take it in - and know it will become reality.

So, yes. Ambition is the key to fulfilling your dreams.

So stop your whining, set up your goals clearly, and work hard towards achieving them instead of listing all the things that make them impossible to reach. Nobody likes a whiner, but everybody loves a hard worker, and everybody worth befriending will therefor do their best to help you along the way. Trust me on that. Besides, you're going to die in seventy years anyway, so anything you do before that is a bloody bonus at the end of the line.

yeah but your Swedish..everybody loves the Swedish

reply to post by BacknTime


I must admit, I have noticed that to be true in the US. My girlfriend once got a water melon for free, because the cashier in the store was too enthusiastic about me being Swedish to remember punching it in at her cash machine thing.

That said, I doubt success is limited to certain countries. I'm a firm believer that success can be found in any country in the world. Might be harder in Kongo-Kinshasa than Sweden though.

reply to post by Gauss


Both Solomon and Job explained how wrong, and shallow, that idea is.

ambition is a hindrance from real growth

reply to post by chr0naut


I'm afraid my Bible knowledge is a bit rusty. And I have no interest in reading up on it.

reply to post by biggmoneyme


Not in my experience. Are you telling me my experience is wrong?

A buddhist attitude will do a lot of good for people. Being a buddhist has helped me in my attitude immensely. But depression and apathy are negative feedback cycles. You dig yourself into a hole so deep you can never get yourself out. I plan on buying a semi truck next week and hopefully ill make more money than i do now.....

Anyway, as far as the buddhism comment.. wanting creates suffering. Modify your wanting to get rid of the suffering. In fact, wanting to exist causes us to reincarnate, and to live is to suffer.....

reply to post by phroziac


I'm not sure if I can agree with you on living being suffering, dude. I'm greatly enjoying being alive, and I'd love to go another round with humanity after this life.

But, the real point of this post is this part; Good luck with the semi-truck. I hope things work out well for you, dude! You seem to have the positive attitude down, and that usually works wonders.

reply to post by Gauss

Unfortunately, I cannot take either, as I have no work permit yet. BUT, I have the ambition to become an American citizen - and because I have that (Love for my girlfriend doesn't hinder my cause either), I know one day I will reach that goal.

is your girlfriend American?
just marry her
goal accomplished

reply to post by spoonbender


Haha, I would, dude, and trust me, I do want to. But her last marriage was pretty #ty, so she's still weary of another one. We're probably going to get married within the next three or so years, though, so until then I'm going to just be patient and just come back to the US on a regular basis of at least a few months every year. While ambition is awesome, sometimes patience is a virtue, or so they say.

reply to post by spoonbender


your goal is done son! just like that

reply to post by BacknTime


The lady at the US Embassy in Stockholm warned me of doing that. She said it would be interpreted in a bad way by Immigration, if I did get married while I was here on my first stay.

Psh dont come to america there isnt # here

reply to post by XFatalX


I'm already here, and I disagree strongly. I am enamored with your country. Especially Las Vegas.

Originally posted by Gauss
reply to post by biggmoneyme

 

Not in my experience. Are you telling me my experience is wrong?

key in my statement was real growth. getting a good paying job and all that wordly stuff is superficial when compared to the potential.

reply to post by biggmoneyme


Once again I disagree with you.

Originally posted by Gauss
reply to post by biggmoneyme

 

Once again I disagree with you.

wordly success is no success at all. where there is ambition and desire there is bondage

reply to post by biggmoneyme


I disagree. Sometimes worldly success and spiritual success goes hand in hand. When you feel good, are genuinely happy and at peace in this life, you grow as a person, and, I daresay, spiritually. To throw away the notion of living well and happily in this life for the sake of growing spiritually is, to me, a crazy notion.

For quite some time, I was headed down a path of ultimate self-destruction. Whining, complaining, "I can't do this, I can't do that." Blah blah blah, being a "Debbie Downer" as I was once told.

I finally "snapped" out of it and ever since have been living my life in a much more positive demeanor, reaching out, finding myself, and looking at the glass half full (cliche, I know) for the first time in my life. OP, it should go out without saying, but that change in attitude alone has made a drastic difference in the person I am today. I wrestled in high school, and I remember always hearing "Make your luck. The man that says he can, and the man who says he can't are both correct," almost on a daily basis. Back then, I didn't give a crap because of the negativity that had enveloped my life.

But you know, now looking back, you learn a lot of important and meaningful lessons when you go through this hard patches. You have to hit the deepest valley to appreciate the tallest mountain, as my mother would tell me. Anyway, great post OP. I'll be honest, positive attitudes and outlooks tends to rub off on others. And it's always good to see someone who spreads that positivity to others, especially strangers.

Thanks for read, man, and hope everything is going well for you. You seem like a pretty good guy. Definitely needed the read and positive vibe today. Thanks, dude.