AMBITIOUS PEOPLE

AMBITIOUS PEOPLE

‘A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be’ writes the American fantasy and science fiction author.

Ambition is the intent, a yearning or a motivating factor, a weighty or a compelling desire to achieve something extraordinary and to be successful in that effort. Ambitious people are enterprising and pushy to achieve the goals and targets they have earmarked in the interstice of their minds.

The name of King Suddhodana resonates in our minds as being the father of Siddhartha the prince who became Gautama, the monk and eventually Buddha the enlightened and compassionate one. This is an inspiring story for seekers, who wish to traverse the path of spirituality. The trajectory of the life of Siddhartha immortalised King Suddhodana.

Let us assume for a moment, that Siddhartha like any other prince or a king on marriage to Yasodhara lived a luxuriant life, procreated more children, expanded the kingdom of the Sakya dynasty would he have been memorialized the way he is now?  He may have been recalled as any other king of a republic but not as a mindful or an aware soul who through the eight-fold path he enunciated and other principles was able to establish a belief a faith, which is practiced by millions of people across the globe even after 2500 years.

Yes there have been extraordinary military leaders like Alexander the great, Napoleon Bonaparte or Babur who reigned over vast swathes of lands, but history remembers them only   for their tactics on warfare and perhaps cruelty inflicted on the vanquished than a Buddha who forsake everything yet became an emperor and is also revisited over centuries by authors, seekers, ordinary souls and philosophers, for the in-depth insight into the thinking pattern of what is called human mind. He defragmented the human mind like perhaps no one else could and pealed it like one peals an onion to decipher what it stores. And by merely becoming aware and mindful breathing an individual becomes aware of the mind and its various myriad forms. Buddha was perhaps the greatest psychologist to set his foot on planet earth.

 But, Siddhartha too was fuelled by a burning ambition and desire which fired his mind to traverse an unchartered course. There was obviously an implosion in his mind which made him forsake all worldly desires and passions to achieve unprecedented success and eventually carved a niche for himself.

There is an interesting anecdote about two coal miners who happened to be thick friends from England. Both were laden with coal dust, the grime of the mines and unhygienic living conditions. While one was given to ribaldry against fellow miners, the other was untrammelled in his thoughts. He went on to become a prolific blogger. His name is Wade Harman and is a recognizable personality on different websites.

  This is a quintessential story of the rise of an ordinary man who was battered daily in the cranny corners of a coal mine to the blossoming of his latent talent and then to become a recognisable face. Wade Harman waded his way through the swathes of anonymity of a virtual dungeon called a coal mine by igniting his ambition.

To possess a messianic drive or being ambitious should not be viewed from the prism of negativity. Creative people need to be ambitious. They necessarily have to be ambitious and result oriented in their output. However, their ambitions should be for the larger advantage of the society and not merely for self-aggrandisement. This distinguishes the metamorphosis of Siddhartha to Gautama and then Buddha and Buddha from say Alexander the great.

‘’ Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. Everything depends on the principle which direct them” said Napolean Bonaparte.  

Ambitious people could face roadblocks. But they overcome these problems through their mental resoluteness. Their minds possess the strength of an ox and the agility of a panther.

Such individuals are learners, and continuously upgrade their skills by reading, updating their skillsets, and being abreast with the latest technology.

Ambitious people let go of all negativities and inhibitions. Their minds brainstorm ideas, experiences, incidents, even outlandish ideas to create something radical. An”out of the ‘’ solution is their success Mantra. Brain storming is done individually or say in Sanghas.

They strive to become better thinkers, innovators and become adept in solving problems.

In case they get stuck in a mental quagmire, or an ossified environment, the mind reinvents and adapts itself by becoming stimulating and prepares a flow chart which leads it to generate solutions.

Ambitious people keep learning. A beautiful poem penned by a poet   comes to mind which are reproduced below:

“Learning is the beginning of a life worth living

Learning is the beginning of wealth

Learning is the beginning of happiness

Learning is the beginning of health

Learning and searching is where the process of creating your own personal miracle begins

Learning is the beginning of self-enterprise

Keep Learning!”

This separates chaff from the grain.