Ambition vs. Passion

The title of this mini-podcast is Ambition vs. Passion. Are you ambitious or passionate? At first glance, they may sound like the same thing, but I don't think they are. Personally, I'd rather be passionate than ambitious.

To me, ambition carries a lot of dog-eat-dog flavor. It's about getting ahead, climbing the ladder, winning the race. And while that approach may get you where you want to go, it can leave a trail of bruised relationships behind you.

Over the years, I've noticed that some of the most ambitious people I've known seem driven by anger. They've always had something to prove, someone to beat or another mountain to conquer,

chip on their shoulder. Maybe that's just my experience, but I've never felt very comfortable around people who live in that emotional gear. Passion feels different to me.

Passion comes from the inside. It's that fire in your belly that keeps you moving because you love what you're doing. It has a quiet determination, a stick-to-itiveness that doesn't disappear the moment life throws an obstacle in your path. Passionate people don't have to step on others to move forward.

They simply go around them, put their heads down, and keep running their own race. And when they finally cross that finish line, there usually seems to be a lot more people cheering for them. Maybe the difference between ambition and passion isn't just semantics after all. Isn't just semantics after all.

Both can take you to success. But passion seems more about fulfillment, while ambition seems more about appearance. Of course, that's just my take, my opinion. So here's the question.

Who do you enjoy being around more, ambitious people or passionate people? And perhaps the real question is this. Who do you want to be? All the best, John.