The Daily Stoic - What Kind of Ambition To Have

Episode Date: August 20, 2019

There are different kinds of ambition. There was, on one end of the spectrum, the ambition of someone like Abraham Lincoln. This was the ambition that taught him to read, that braved the wild Mississippi River, that learned the law, that worked his way up from poverty into the presidency, and, eventually, kept America from permanently tearing itself apart. Then there is Seneca’s ambition. He too was driven and talented and yearned for a chance to change the world. But it’s also clear that he wasn’t always principled, that he was perhaps a bit too in love with power, and possibly with money. Lincoln’s ambition ended slavery. Seneca’s enabled Nero. In the contrast between the two—and between pure and self-interested ambition everywhere—we find the truth of the observation in the novel What Makes Sammy Run?—“What a tremendous burning and blinding light ambition can be where there is something behind it, and what a puny flickering sparkler when there isn’t.” We’ve talked before here about Marcus Aurelius’s view on ambition. But the truth was that he was ambitious too. He wanted to be a great emperor. He swore that no senator would be executed in his reign. He wanted peace to reign. He wanted to resist the corrosive corruption that power had on other Stoics, including Seneca. This is clearly good ambition. The world needs more of that. It needs people who want to improve the world and themselves. Who, above all, are committed to virtue—to justice, temperance, wisdom, and courage. More directly we need you to be one of those people, to have that kind of ambition and to set about your life doing whatever it is you are called to do. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoke podcast early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoke. For each day, we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. insight, wisdom necessary for living good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. What kind of ambition to have? There are different kinds of ambition. There was on one end of the spectrum the ambition of someone like Abraham Lincoln.

This was the ambition that taught him to read, that brave the wild Mississippi river, that learned the law, that worked his way up from poverty into the presidency, and eventually kept America from permanently tearing itself apart. Then there is Seneca's ambition. He too was driven and talented and yearned for a chance to change the world. But it's also clear that he wasn't always principled, that he was perhaps a bit too in love with power and possibly with money. Lincoln's ambition ended slavery. Seneca's enabled Nero. In the contrast between the two and between pure and self-interested ambition everywhere,

we find the truth of the observation in the novel, what makes Sammy run. contrast between the two and between pure and self-interested ambition everywhere. We find the truth of the observation in the novel, what makes Sammy run? But Schuelberg writes, what a tremendous burning and blinding light ambition can be when there is something behind it, and what a puny flickering sparkler when there isn't. We've talked here before about Marcus's view on ambition, but the truth was that he was ambitious too. He wanted to be a great emperor. He swore that no senator would be executed in his reign.

He wanted peace to reign. He wanted to resist the corrosive corruption that power had on other Stoics, including Seneca. This is clearly good ambition. The world that needs more of that, it needs people who want to improve the world and themselves, who above all are committed to virtue, to justice, temperance, wisdom, courage. More directly, we need you to be one of those people, for you to have that kind of ambition, and for you to set your life around doing whatever it is you are called to do.

Just the heads up, there's now an obstacle is the way pendant in the Daily Stoic store. that your life around doing whatever it is. You are called to do. Just the heads up, there's now an obstacle as the way pendant in the daily store. It's awesome. We have it made here in the US. We designed it ourselves. It's got Marcus Aurelius is enduring words on it. The impediment to action advances action.

What stands in the way becomes the way. If you want something, you can carry with you always. You can wear around your neck. That reminds you that you can treat every obstacle as fuel, you can be better for everything that happens, that the way around is the way through, that the way through is the way. I suggest you check it out. I think you'll like it. Just go to dailystoke.com slash store. Hey, Prime Members! You can listen to the Daily Stoic Early and Add Free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts.

you