Ambition

Quotations about Ambition

Using Quotations in a Speech or Text about Ambition

As well as keeping your audience engaged, adding quotations to a speech or a text can significantly enhance its impact and effectiveness. Quotations are useful for explaining complex ideas concisely, much in the same way that analogies are used. Additionally, quotations from experts or celebrities can add credibility to your message.

Here are some funny and poignant quotations about ambition. If your speech is serious, do not automatically avoid funny quotations as they can often be the most impactful, forcing your audience into the thinking about the hidden analogous message in your selected quotation.

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." (British actor Peter Ustinov)
"When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." (Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw)

If you are looking to make a fuller speech about ambition, then below this selection of quotations are three funny themes and three serious themes on the topic of ambition that might help trigger some ideas for your speech or text.

"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." Timothy Leary(psychologist, 1920-1996)

"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy." Milan Kundera (Czech writer, 1929-)

"People assume you slept your way to the top. Frankly, I couldn't sleep my way to the middle." Joni Evans (American publisher, 1942-)

"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings." Salvador Dali (Spanish painter, 1904-89)

"When ambition ends, happiness begins." Thomas Merton (theologian, 1915-1968)

"Ambition is the last refuge of the failure." Oscar Wilde (playwright, 1854-1900)

"A young man without ambition is an old man waiting to be." Steven Brust (author, 1955-)

"It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book." Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher, 1844-1900)

"At the age of six, I wanted to be a cook. At seven, I wanted to be Napoleon, and my ambition has been growing steadily ever since." Salvador Dali (Spanish painter, 1904-89)

"My grandfather once told me that there two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition there." Indira Gandhi (Indian stateswoman, 1917-84)

"The average Hollywood film star's ambition is to be admired by an American, courted by an Italian, married to an Englishman, and have a French boyfriend." Katharine Hepburn (American actress, 1907-2003)

"Nothing makes a man so adventurous as an empty pocket." Victor Hugo (French writer, 1802-85)

For years, politicians have promised the moon. I'm the first one to be able to deliver it. Richard Milhous Nixon (American Republican statesman, 1913-94)

Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes. P. J. O'Rourke 1947- American humorous writer

A self-made man is one who believes in luck and sends his son to Oxford. Christina Stead (Australian novelist, 1902-83)

"There is always room at the top." Daniel Webster (American politician, 1782-1852) having been advised against joining the legal profession due to overcrowding.

"Every nice girl's ambition." John Betjeman (English poet, 1906-84) upon seeing a commemorative stone engraved "Laid by the Poet Laureate" (John Masefield).

Thinking Template for a Speech or Text on Ambition

Below are 3 funny themes and 3 serious themes related to ambition. These have been included to help you identify areas to explore.

Funny Themes:

Ambitious Overachievers: Hilarious Stories of Going Too Far
- Share amusing tales of people whose ambition led them to go overboard, resulting in funny and unexpected outcomes.
Office Ambitions: Climbing the Corporate Ladder with a Twist
- Highlight the humorous side of office politics and the lengths people go to get ahead, including funny anecdotes and office shenanigans.
Kid Ambitions: When Childhood Dreams Get Outrageous
- Explore the funny and imaginative ambitions of children, from wanting to become superheroes to planning to own candy factories.

Serious Themes:

The Role of Ambition in Personal Development
- Discuss how ambition drives personal growth, the pursuit of goals, and the development of skills and talents.
Balancing Ambition and Contentment: Finding a Middle Ground
- Address the challenge of balancing ambition with contentment, and the importance of finding satisfaction in one's achievements while striving for more.
Ethical Ambition: Pursuing Goals with Integrity
- Explore the concept of ethical ambition, emphasizing the importance of pursuing one's goals while maintaining integrity and ethical standards.

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