Ambition

Who was that old guy in the commercial that said, “Confidence is sexy, Don’t you think?” I can’t recall his name but he was also the cowboy in the Billy Crystal movie where they herd cattle on vacation. Have you ever had a senior moment where you can’t quite remember things?

I love people with confidence. Often times on interviews people will interpret it as arrogance but I can often see a big difference between arrogance and confidence. It is how people carry themselves. Two shakes of confidence with a dash of humility makes the best recipe.

I don’t mind people that aspire to be the CEO, I actually like that. I think arrogance comes across more when people’s ambition is focused on the individual’s definition of greatness or success. When people focus on selfishness (when they don’t have the dash of humility) that is when they struggle to succeed. True ambition is a focus on more noble or worthy goals.

Leaders with ambition toward noble goals tend to bring people along with them. I recently read about the Riverside School in India where the schools focus was to empower the children. The kids in turn took to the streets to end child labor, teach their parents to read and write, raise money for hearing aids and to create a community focus on all children. Plus their grades vastly improved and even surpassed other schools!

Talent can take you to the top, but it is your character that will keep you there. So ambition without humility makes you…….John Calipari?

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil (James 3:16)

Think today about the motivating forces in your life. Which ones are self-centered and how much is noble? In your prayer time, ask God to show you your selfish ambition and to help you move it out of the way. Ask God for help in setting new goals that will lift others. Maybe you can empower children?