The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-02-15
Ambition

Ambition
Perhaps few people have taken the view that
ambition is not conducive to ones peace of mind.
1t is thought that to be ambitious is in reality
a very happy state of existence To finish one mat
ter successfully and then to be anxious to proceed
with the next, and 80 on is feeling to which the
poor, ignorant human, with no ambition whatever,
hasn't any idea of. and is therefore thought to be
very unhappy mortal. He is classed with the
brute creation who thinks only of his stomach and
soft place in which to sleep; and after these 'un-
important" particulars are attended to, the height
of his ambition is fully realized
The truly ambitious mans wants are never sat-
isfied. As soon he has surmounted one difficulty
and gained the objective toward which he was
striving, he begins to plan attaining something
else, and he continues the same process over again.
focusing his mind on that one single goal; con-
tinually thinking of it while he is awake and
dreaming of it while he is asleep. 1t interferes
with his eating and he cannot enjoy his meals as
he should In fact, unless he acquires that which
he covets, or discovers that which he is seeking.
or completes that which he is planning, he becomes
very discontinued, unhappy man; and he not only
makes life we'll nigh intoerable for himself, but
makes it miserable for all those who have to come
in contact with him.
If a mans ambition was satisfied after he had
attained what he first started out to get, all would
be we'll and he no doubt would be very happy and
contented but it seems as though it wasn't in hu-
man nature to be that way. Supposing it is GER
tain quantity of money he desires to accumulate
We will say, he wants to acquire 5000 in Ger
tain length of time. He believes that when he gets
that much he will be perfectly contented and will
r0of d.
for time, he finally finds himself in possession of
that amount, does he find his ambition satisfied
and settle down to enjoy life? No, most certainly
not. He discovers that S., 900 is not enough and
that it was $4,000 he wanted. So he keeps on
striving and worrying and fretting until he has
amassed $4,000. But when he looks at the $4,000.
it looks exceedingly small, and so he keeps on till
he gets $4,000, when, finally, the he gets the
less he is satisfied. and his ambition Tor call it
greed, it you like) becomes greater as his fortune
increases. and unless he curbs that ambition by
exercising his will-power and calling halt on
himself, he will always live life IF discomfort,
and will never know the real meaning of true
happiness.
In taking another view of ambition it will
be noticed that where one succeeds, it is generally
at the expense of others. The dictionary saws
that ambition means desire for preferment. honors.
power, etc. Therefore it means the desire of one
to be preferred above his fellows and that in order
to accomplish his desire for honors and power he
must be capable of pushing his fellow men to one
side, by whatever means he can, so that he may
arrive at the top.
Ii he is a man of talent, he must make his
work better than that of his nearest competitor 30
that his product will be in greater demand than that
OF his rival. In other Words he must succeed in
so discrediting his rivals work by making his own
so much superior that his rival will drop from the
pinnacle to which he had climbed while he who
has achieved greater triumphs will bask in the
sunshine of popular favor until such time as he
is displaced by someone who will produce results
much better than his.
But, without ambition of any kind we would
be on level with the beasts, for ambition is the
power that moves the machinery of progress, and
although the ambitious designs of some are often
very annoying, yet it always produces good effects
in the end. 1t is the results of the ambitious plans
of those who have gone before that makes this
world better place in which to live, and it will be
the realization of the ambitions of those who live
to-day that will prove of great benefit to those who
come after-'B"