Ambition is both a blessing and a curse. Without it, we drift. With too much of it — or the wrong kind — we burn out, compromise, or collapse. David Brooks, in his essay on ambition, reminds us that the question isn’t whether ambition is good or bad. It’s how to ride the energy of ambition without being devoured by it.

Most of us don’t operate on pure altruism. We may want to write a book “to help people,” but what keeps us grinding through the lonely, brutal process is also the hope of seeing our name on the cover or being recognized as “smart.” That mix of motives is human — and, Brooks argues, not shameful. The challenge is direction, not purity.

Abraham Lincoln is the model here: “a little engine that knew no rest,” as his law partner put it. Yet even Lincoln wrestled with the dangers of excessive ambition, warning of it in his 1838 Lyceum Address. His life was a battle to harness ambition’s fire without letting it scorch his soul.

Brooks breaks down this lifelong duel into five inner battles — each of which can serve as a diagnostic tool for us today.

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Skill vs. Reward: Keep the 70:30 Ratio

• The Question: Do I want to do this work well (intrinsic), or do I mainly want the money/status it brings (extrinsic)?
• The Rule: Maintain roughly 70% devotion to craft, 30% to reward.
  If the balance tips, shortcuts, shallow work, and moral hazards multiply.
• Mini Habit: Each week, note: “What did I do purely for the love of craft?”

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Gift-Love vs. Need-Love: Fullness or Emptiness?

C.S. Lewis made a crucial distinction:

• Gift-Love: Flowing from fullness. You give because you are already full. It builds trust and connection.
• Need-Love: Driven by inner void. It manipulates, controls, and parades sacrifice for recognition.
• Ambition Check: Is my drive fueled by joy and responsibility, or by anger and deficiency?
• Mini Habit: Write: “This week, what did I truly give — versus what did I secretly seek?”

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Excellence vs. Superiority: The Trap of Rankings

• Excellence: Competing with yourself. Growth measured against yesterday’s you.
• Superiority: Competing with others. Worth defined by rankings, titles, “likes.”
• Modern Pitfall: Our so-called “meritocracy” is often a rank-ocracy. Social media makes it worse — endless comparisons, toxic metrics.
• Rule: Anchor goals in process (practice, attempts, contributions), not outcomes (titles, awards).
• Mini Habit: Daily “one-hour comparison detox” — notifications off, focus only on a single deep-skill practice.

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Higher vs. Lower Desires: You Become What You Love

• Lower Desires: Money, power, applause — bottomless wells. The more you drink, the thirstier you get.
• Higher Desires: Truth, understanding, friendship, transcendence — the more you pursue, the richer you become.
• St. Augustine’s Warning: “Be careful what you love, for you will become what you love.”
• Rule: Once a month, audit your loves. Ask: “The three things I love most right now — what kind of person are they making me?”
• Mini Habit: Intentionally schedule “noble desires” — deep reading, real conversation, walking, prayer, reflection — before trivial pursuits crowd them out.

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Ambition vs. Aspiration: Climbing vs. Deepening

• Ambition: The desire to climb higher in the world — jobs, titles, recognition.
• Aspiration: The desire to become better in the world — in character, relationships, virtue.
• Reality: Ambition wins applause. Aspiration demands silence, sacrifice, and slow growth. Yet aspiration leaves the deeper legacy.
• Rule: Alongside career OKRs, set Character OKRs.
  Example: “Q4: Cut meeting talk by 30%, double the questions; keep every promise; biweekly mentoring of juniors.”
• Mini Habit: Each night, journal three lines —
  1. Today’s achievement (ambition)
  2. Today’s growth (aspiration)
  3. Tomorrow’s one focus (direction)

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Lincoln’s Way: Ride the Dragon, Don’t Get Eaten

Lincoln didn’t slay ambition’s dragon. He saddled it. He lived in constant tension — burning with ambition, yet vigilant not to let it corrupt him. That’s the real takeaway: No ambition without inner struggle. No aspiration without ambition’s fuel.

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7-Point Ambition Checklist

1. Motivation ratio: Is it ~70% craft, 30% reward?
2. Root drive: Joyful responsibility or angry deficiency?
3. Comparison detox: Did I spend one hour today in pure self-focus?
4. Love audit: The top three things I love — what are they making me?
5. Character OKRs: Do I have measurable goals for virtue, not just career?
6. Gift check: Today, what did I truly give with no strings?
7. 3-line close: Did I log achievement, growth, and one focus for tomorrow?

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One-Sentence Takeaway

Ambition is the engine. Aspiration is the compass.
The engine without the compass crashes; the compass without the engine stalls.
Together, they make for a meaningful journey.