Ambition Never Looks Back

Ben Jonson Quote

Ambition never looks back; Ben Jonson confirms there's no looking back as ambition is a quest not a goal, it is a one way street without a pit stop

Most people lose their ambitious edge, they sprint until their head is turned by life and settle for mediocrity, they think they are ambitious but they do not understand the essence of ambition because it is relentless and ruthless and not for the feint of heart.

Ambition Is A Quest Not A Goal

Ambition is a quest not a goal, it collects goals as it ascends the ladder of success, but each goal reveals a new target that must be pursued more ruthlessly because the higher you get the more challenging it becomes.

It does not matter what barriers are put in front of someone with a focused ambitious attitude, sheer will power and determination will get any individual much further than their talented peers or skilled tacticians of their trade.

Talent and skill will take you so far, the rest is down to how badly you want to achieve something, if ambition burns inside you to succeed you will never look back.

Moderate success is regularly achieved by millions of talented people but the desire to push on for more is often extinguished by life events and a change of focus of what is deemed most important. Marriage, kids, holidays, parties, life experiences, the list could go on but life always throws up events and situations that distract from your original ambitions.

The secret of the truly ambitious is to have the strength of mind to ignore all of lifes distractions no matter how tempting they may seem.

Without making any sacrifices do not expect to make anything of any significance, sacrifices separate the ambitious from the talented, the extra hours and days given up to concentrate on each goal make a big difference.

If you are not talented but possess an ambitious attitude then you will see people in front of you, one thing you will not worry about is who is behind you or what is behind you, your focus will remain clear and forward looking. Eventually your persistent attitude in pursuing your ambition will reveal different people and different challenges laying in your path.

Persistence and dogged determination are the tools of the ambitious person who never looks back, no matter how many times you get knocked down you will get back up and keep looking forward.

Compromise The Complacency Of The Talented

The difference between commuter jams and a private jet is ambition, yet the majority of the talented do not possess the single minded focus to avoid the distractions of life. Compromise becomes commonplace and before you know it the talented are exactly where they belong living in the 'normalsville' suburbs.

Ben Jonson The Playwright and Poet

Ben Jonson was a 17th century English playwright and poet who rose to the top at a time when his main rival was none other than the literary genius William Shakespeare, indeed Shakespeare's company produced a number of Jonson's plays with Shakespeare himself acting in two of them.

Ben Jonson was during his time a great success so he knew a thing or two about ambition leading to success, Shakespeare's success has been more enduring and he is the more famous today than his adversary Jonson.

As the 16th century was drawing to a close Ben Jonson had that burning ambition to utter the line; "Ambition, like a torrent, never looks back", and he never did as his tunnel vision gained him the acceptance into the court of James I, King of England.

Upon his death Ben Jonson was interred into a nave inside Westminster Abbey with the words "O Rare Ben Johnson" inscribed into the slab above his grave.

Article By: Michael Joseph Farrelly