Ambition is an internal drive that pushes you to excel. Ambition is built through your self direction. Build your self direction and you’ll build your ambition.

I had another idea planned to write about for today, but I found an excellent article on ambition yesterday in a newsletter I read. The article is written by Jim Rohn and is such a great article that I felt it needed to be shared today. The whole article was included in the newsletter, so I’ve copied it below in it’s entirety. Here’s the article:

Ambitiously Pursuing Your Own Self-Direction by Jim Rohn

What is the origin of true ambition? There exists really only one place to find true ambition and that is within you—in every thought, in every movement, in every motivation. Your ambition is an expression of who you truly are, your own self-expression.

Self-expression. Isn’t self-expression really self-direction? How you think, how you move, how you motivate yourself. Ambition is a result of self-direction and self-direction is one of the six key principles necessary for building ambition. Positive self-direction says, “I know who I am and I know where I want to go. I’m accumulating knowledge and experiences and feelings and philosophies that will help prepare me for opportunities that I know will show up without notice or any help on my part.” Because you know where you want to go, you have already been working on the parts of your personality that will make you better. Working on your attitude, working on your health, working on your time-management skills. Putting it all down on paper. And you constantly see yourself in the place you want to be, going in the direction you want to go.

Direction determines destination. So here is a question you must ask yourself, “Are all the disciplines that I’m currently engaged in taking me where I want to go?” What an important question to ask yourself at the beginning of the month, the beginning of the week, the beginning of the day. Because here is what you don’t ever want to do—kid yourself. Kid your neighbor, kid me and kid the marketplace, but don’t kid yourself—fingers crossed—hoping you will arrive at a good destination when you’re not even headed that way. You have to ask yourself often, AM I? Am I doing the disciplines that are taking me in the direction I want to go? Don’t neglect to ask these important questions, questions that help determine your direction, the set of your sail, your destination.

Is this the direction I want for my life?
Is this someone else’s direction?
Is this a goal I have been ingrained with since my childhood?
Is this goal my parents’, my spouse’s, my boss’s, my children’s or is it MINE?

Ask yourself these questions and then debate them. After you have answered these questions within yourself, then take it one step further and ask, “What am I doing that is working or not working?” Debate it all. Work with your mind to figure out the best possible direction for you—your self-direction. And then ambitiously pursue your own self-direction. Let the power of your own ambition take you where you want to go, to do what you want to do, to create the life you want to live!

Work on your self direction and build your ambition. Your future success lies in your hands. Until next time…

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