Sentence:  I care nothing for the plaudits of the populace. I'm ambitious, in a way; but when that way requires me to leave the people—the things—that I love, then ambition <WSD>chameleonizes</WSD> and I become ambitious antithetically. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To change colour or turn various colours; to be transformed (to suit changing circumstances).