If you’re looking for something that’ll push you to continue what you’ve started, this list of ambition quotes will help you conquer the unconquerable.
Having ambition is what drives us to greatness. It’s not uncommon to lose our focus or steam in the middle of doing something.
But, if we stay true to our ambitions, no matter how many breaks, pauses, or breathers we take, we know we’ll always get back on track.
Sadly, with all the challenges up ahead, it’s easy to get disheartened and unmotivated. In times like this, it’s essential to keep moving forward—to keep taking that next step—toward our ambitions.
Realizing our goals will undoubtedly wear us out. But, just keep being ambitious! In time, all your hard work will start to pay off, and you’ll eventually steer your life toward something better.
We’ve gathered the best ambition quotes to keep the fire inside you burning.
Read on and be inspired to tackle whatever obstacle lies ahead!
Check the complete list below.
And don’t miss out these achievement quotes.
Best Ambition Quotes
1. “When your ambition is greater than your fear, your life will get bigger than your dream.” – Farshad Asl
2. “Ambition is not a dirty word. Piss on compromise. Go for the throat.” – Steven Erikson
3. “Ambition is a lust that is never quenched, but grows more inflamed and madder by enjoyment.” – Thomas Otway
4. “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
5. “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” – Bill Bradley
6. “It is a grand thing to rise in the world. The ambition to do so is the very salt of the earth. It is the parent of all enterprise, and the cause of all improvement.” – Anthony Trollope
7. “Ambition is the epicenter of perseverance through which accomplishments spell success.” – Byron Pulsifer
8. “A dream without ambition is like a car without gas—you’re not going anywhere.” – Sean Hampton
9. “You can realize your full possibilities, but to dominate and achieve you must have high aims, ideals and ambitions—all linked to an iron will.” – W.D. Wattles
10. “Ambition is not what a man would do, but what a man does, for ambition without action is fantasy.” – Bryant H. McGill
11. “My ambition comes from my passion: finding what I love and then expanding on that.” – Miranda Kerr
12. “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” – Marcus Aurelius
13. “Ambition is more than mere desire. It is desire plus incentive—determination—will to achieve the desire.” – Herbert Armstrong
14. “People with ambition don’t give a damn what other people think of them.” – Diane Setterfield
15. “The man who starts out simply with the idea of getting rich won’t succeed, you must have a larger ambition.” – John D. Rockefeller
Famous Ambition Quotes
16. “Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine. Ain’t nowhere else in the world where you can go from driving a truck to Cadillac overnight.” – Elvis Presley
17. “Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.” – Salvador Dali
18. “If you have a great ambition, take as big a step as possible in the direction of fulfilling it. The step may only be a tiny one, but trust that it may be the largest one possible for now.” – Mildred Mcafee
19. “If you have got a dream and you’ve got ambition, then go for it. You know, unless you try, you’ll never know.” – Eddie the Eagle
20. “Ambition can creep as well as soar.” – Edmund Burke
21. “Ambition is a Dead Sea fruit, and the greatest peril to the soul is that one is likely to get precisely what he is seeking.” – Edward Dahlberg
22. “Ambition is an idol, on whose wings great minds are carried only to the extreme, to be sublimely great, or to be nothing.” – Shakti Gawain
23. “A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be.” – Steven Brust
24. “A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive.” – Pearl Bailey
Also read: Famous Quotes, Positive Quotes
Ambition Quotes That Will Inspire You to Do Great Things
25. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can somehow become great.” – Mark Twain
26. “We need people who dream impossible things, who maybe fail, sometimes succeed, but in any case who have that ambition.” – Emmanuel Macron
27. “At least 88% of millionaires are self-made. That is, they started with nothing but ambition and energy, the same way most of us start.” – Brian Tracy
28. “Realizing your ambitions, controlling your fate, and achieving unrivaled greatness is derived from knowing what to change, how to change, and, most importantly, why to change.” – Dean Gualco
29. “Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world usually do.” – Steve Jobs
30. “Being ambitious is actually good as long as you do not step on other people’s toes and provide inspiration to fellow men.” – Sara Wellington
31. “Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.” – Barack Obama
Also read: Encouraging Quotes, Inspirational Quotes
Ambition Quotes for Everyone Who Needs to Focus On Their Goals
32. “Don’t be afraid to be ambitious about your goals. Hard work never stops. Neither should your dreams.” – Dwayne Johnson.
33. “Your ambitions will rise above your faults and you will get where you wish to go.” – Isabel Stevens Webster
34. “Get going. Move forward. Aim High. Plan a takeoff. Don’t just sit on the runway and hope someone will come along and push the airplane. It simply won’t happen. Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you’ll love it up here.” – Donald Trump
35. “When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.” – Jim Henson
36. “My personal ambition remains the same—to be creative, to be modern, to stay one step ahead, to enjoy life.” – Natalie Massenet
37. “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents, and interests.” – Sheryl Sandberg
Short Ambition Quotes to Propel You Forward
38. “Ambition is enthusiasm with a purpose.” – Frank Tyger
39. “Ambitions reveal direction.” – Mace Windu
40. “Ambition never comes to an end.” – Yoshida Kenko
41. “My ambition is handicapped by laziness.” – Charles Bukowski
42. “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.” – Samuel Johnson
43. “Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.” – Sir John Denham
44. “Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
45. “Ambition is more important than ability.” – P.S. Scott
46. “Big results require big ambitions.” – Heraclitus
47. “Achievement results from work realizing ambition.” – Adam Ant
Motivational Ambition Quotes That Will Boost Your Performance
48. “If a person holds no ambitions in this world, he suffers unknowingly. If a person holds ambitions, he suffers knowingly, but very slowly.” – Alan Lightman
49. “If a man does not work passionately—even furiously—at being the best in the world at what he does, he fails his talent, his destiny, and his God.” – George Lois
50. “Every man must play the part of his ambition. If you are trying to be a successful man, you must play the part.” – Orison Swett Marden
51. “Motivation and ambition either come from fear or love, it’s up to you to choose.” – Kevin Kerr
More Ambition Quotes That Will Keep the Fire Inside You Burning
52. “Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions. I’m so glad I have such a lot. And there never seems to be any end to them—that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting.” – L.M. Montgomery
53. “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” – Madonna
54. “Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us—and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.” – Oscar Wilde
55. “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principals which direct them.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
56. “Ambition has one heel nailed in well, though she stretches her fingers to touch the heavens.” – William Lilly
57. “A man without ambition is like a beautiful worm—it can creep, but it cannot fly.” – Henry Ward Beecher
58. “If the fire in your heart is strong enough, it will burn away any obstacles that come your way.” – Suzy Kassem
59. “Ambition leads me not only farther than any other man has been before me but as far as I think it possible for a man to go.” – James Cook
60. “It has been a long journey, but if you dream and have the ambition and want to work hard, then you can achieve.” – Mo Farah
Did These Quotes Fuel Your Desire to Achieve Greater Things?
With ambitions, we tend to aim higher than what we have and aspire to be an inspiration to others. Through them, we are kept motivated, no matter how challenging it might be to succeed. From a more profound point of view, our ambitions are the carefully planned blueprints that’ll help us recognize the right course and path to take.
However, having big ambitions isn’t enough to succeed. Like Sean Hampton said, “A dream is like a car without gas—it won’t get you anywhere.”
Without effort, none of our goals will come true. Given that, it’s essential to keep in mind that hard work is what will make the wheels turn quicker. And, in time, we’ll eventually reach our goals and dreams!
Being ambitious leads us to destinations we never knew we could reach. So, let these quotes guide you toward an effective and efficient route to the life of your dreams!
