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Ambition Quotes

Shakespeare leads, followed by Milton, Pope, Cowper and the American educator William H. Crogman. The sourced lines are mostly unflattering. Wilde, in 1894, calls ambition the last refuge of the failure, and Bierce, in 1911, defines it as an overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead. Burke, in Letters on a Regicide Peace (1796), puts it more neatly: ambition can creep as well as soar.

Flagged: a passage on moderation being a virtue to limit the ambition of great men, credited to Disraeli, is marked misattributed, and two passages of Dryden, one on ambition and gold, the other on the diadem as the centre of ambition, are disputed.

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Most quoted on ambition:

Our ambition is for each child, as a global citizen, and not just an African citizen, but to bring that whole technology and learning into an environment.

Amina J. Mohammed

There is no secret, it is of all of us: we always want to win. It’s ambition. I want to win every game, I train a lot for it.

Mapi León

It has made me reflect on my own personal values, aims, and ambitions in life.

Victoria Carter

I have arrived at the conclusion that the work of art is but a springboard for the individual intellect, acting as a mirror reflecting our desires and ambitions

Ibrahim El-Salahi

The collection supports a lifestyle where elegance and ambition go hand in hand, enabling our clients to present their best selves to the world

Palesa Mokubung

I think it’s been good. Coming to a big club such as Pirates there’s so much responsibility and ambition

Sipho Chaine

And the Spear was a Desert Physician who cured not a few of ambition,
And drave not a few to perdition with medicine bitter and strong.

James Elroy Flecker

You know I have no political ambitions. My job is to command my army and see that it is kept as a first rate instrument. Your job is to look after the country.

Sam Manekshaw

Life is not worth living without ambition. In this life, nothing is impossible. Don’t allow fear to hold you back

Aliko Dangote

My burning ambition really is to represent my country. It all starts here at Chiefs though.

George Lebese

Our ambition is, that he should produce even more... with less labour, and should enjoy all the joys of human life. And this is fully possible.

Peter Kropotkin Fields, Factories and Workshops (1899)

Ambition, I’ve found, can lead only to failure. I do not read the reviews. No, I am not singing for you.

Conor Oberst Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

They scolded us for not having any real hopes or real ambitions, but if we were to pursue our true ideals, would these people watch and guide us along the way?

Osamu Dazai

As an organisation, we don’t sit still…We look at every opportunity, we have huge ambitions for the UK

Susanna Dinnage

Ambition is a beautiful thing, but it can quietly rob you of the joy in the present moment

Bidemi Oke

Somehow, we have come to equate profitability with a lack of ambition

Vani Kola

The majority of writers in Africa, of us, confine ourselves, rather than having great ambition

Nuruddin Farah

Pitso’s ambition perfectly aligns with the national team. Whenever he speaks, he talks about the national team

Katlego Mphela

Yes my works are haunted by the memory of all the children, whether they are red yellow black white, by their dreams, ambition

Aboudia

‘I still have the ambition to play there, I still believe I have a lot to offer to the side and still believe I could help South Africa win the World Cup.

JJ Smuts

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