It is hard to imagine an entrepreneur who doesn’t have ambition. Would someone without ambition be willing to start a business? It seems fair to say that all entrepreneurs have ambition to one degree or another.

But what is ambition? Is ambition necessarily good or bad? Or is there something that could make our ambition good or bad?

Let’s start with some definitions. Here’s a dictionary definition:

1. An ardent desire for rank, fame, or power or a desire to achieve a particular end;

2. The object of ambition (“Her ambition is to start a business.”);

3. A desire for activity or exertion (“He felt sick and had no ambition.”).

In his book, Rescuing Ambition, Christian author Dave Harvey defines ambition as “the instinctual motivation to aspire to things, to make something happen, to have an impact, to count for something in life.”

Harvey’s definition highlights that ambition comes from within – it is a “motivation.” In other words, ambition is very closely connected to our sense of purpose – why we do what we do.

In addition, Harvey emphasizes that our ambition can be directed toward having an impact or to count for something in life. These motivations focus our attention on making positive contributions to others and not just being focused on our own personal success or interest.

The Scriptures lead us to this same “others” focus:

Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Regarding the second question (“Is ambition good or bad?”), the real question seems to be: What are the motives that provide the guardrails for our ambitions? Our motives could be holy and godly, or they could be selfish and worldly.

Ambition, like the issue of money, is not good or bad in itself. It is neutral. What makes our desire for money and what makes our ambitious desires good or bad are the motives and the purposes behind them.

For example, many of us have been in situations where we have seen the need for the leader to step up and clarify what needed to be accomplished, but the leader didn’t seem to have much ambition. Or maybe we have experienced the need for members of our team to have more ambition than they did, but no one seemed to care very much about the outcome, the cost, and the waste of time and resources. No one was ambitious enough to get things done and do them well. Obviously, having no ambition is not the answer.

In summary, ambition is the instinctual motivation to aspire to things, to make something happen, to have a positive impact for others, and to count for something important in life. It can be good or bad, but the motivations and purposes of our ambition are the key. In future M3 Weekly articles, we’ll dig deeper into this important topic of ambition.

Verse(s) of the Week:

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)

May God grow in us a healthy ambition to work well in our enterprises, and quietly make a positive impact on others.