On the Greed of Ambition

Dear Symposians,

Here I go, googling again, this time intrigued by Anne’s term, “greed of ambition.” Nothing came up, so I guess that’s an original term, Anne. There are quite a few references to greed and ambition, and Macbeth seems to be the prevalent literary resource on the parallel subject. But I could not find greed of ambition.

But the phrase resonates, and I’m not sure why. I do not believe that all ambition is a product of greed, but this of course is turning the words upside down. Ambition is not the subject, it’s the object here, just as the love of money, being the root of all evil, does not make money a product of love. Nor do I believe that ambition is bad, and yet, like money, it can remain just a word away from evil.

And yet ambition, like money, is a necessary thing.

No, Mom, I am not going down the road of your Republican reference a few weeks ago. Although someone stop me please if I start to sound too much like Ayn Rand. Then agin, I have never been compelled to read any Ayn Rand, so I may be missing the mark completely.

So ambition is what we should not get greedy about, and yet we need ambition to succeed. I suppose the only other way to succeed is by dumb luck, or simple providence, but I do think waiting on luck is dumb, and as for providence, God doesn’t want us wants us to just sit around waiting for his grace. So that leaves us, again, with ambition. And more specifically, not the greed but the succeed of ambition.

And yet greed, like love (or more properly lust) of money, is always looming.

I suspect, though, that you, Anne, are not in danger. In fact, I hope you do not let the fear of greed turn you the other way from a chance to succeed.

I am not always the most ambitious person, and I sometimes wonder if this isn’t something of a shortcoming. Am I too satisfied with my 300 sf rented lawyer office? Do I scoff too much at the more lavish offices with fake waterfalls behind the reception desk? I may never need a waterfall, but I don’t even have a receptionist. Heck, I don’t even have a second desk.

But the phrase resonates, because I know I need ambition to work extra hours or impress my clients with a quick return of their phone calls, or go out to lunch with referral sources or advertise. I want my practice to not only survive the recessions (so far, so good) but pay for my kids’ needs and get me to retirement. There are, by the way, a lot of attorneys out there that seem reluctant to retire, and I suspect it is because they did not have enough ambition to provide for retirement. Either that or too much spent on waterfalls. Either way, by greed or a shortage of ambition, I may end up being one of them.

Meanwhile, back at the Symposium.... Someone please give me a connection!