For 9th and 10th Grade students, a powerpoint presentation on the topic "Ambition". That's all folks, see ya :)

2. • a strong desire to do or achieve something.
• desire and determination to achieve success.

3. Ambition is best described as a
strong desire to do or to achieve
something beyond the everyday
tasks of life.
Who doesn’t want to accomplish
something notable? Its easy to say
we value ambition. Its actually doing
something about it that we’re talking
about here. Ambition without action
is just talk. Being ambitious is all
about walking the walk; actively
pursuing a worthwhile goal.
I don’t have hard numbers but I’d bet
when push comes to shove most
readers will say “yes” to ambition but
will pass right on by without ever
being “ambitious”. Why? Because

4. Life’s treasures are not typically handed to us, but they don’t all
require unbelievable amounts of work either. Some things just
require a little pursuit. It may be cliché but much of life is given to
the doers, not the wait ‘n seers. This isn’t always obvious until we
put forth some effort.
What are the chances we will get what we want if we don’t go after
what we want? If we expect to influence the quality of our lives we
must play an active role.
Sometimes we don’t even know that we’re good at something until
we try. We may even discover unexpected passions by trying new
things. It’s all there for us. We just need to be willing to get out
there and chase after our aspirations.

5. We don’t control what physical characteristics we’re born with, but we can
choose how enthusiastic we’re willing to be. Ambition alone doesn’t
guarantee success, but even great talent without ambition is nothing.
Ambition is to life as the engine is to the car. No matter how aerodynamic,
powerful, or sleek the car, without the engine it’s just a giant lump that’s not
going anywhere.
Deliberate action leads to skill. We can never know what great talents we might
uncover until we courageously leave our comfort zone.

6. When we’re ambitious we’re on a quest to achieve an objective. As
long as we picked a goal that interests us, the positive side effects
of this journey are plentiful. We develop a number of important
characteristics.
Persistence: When we’re excited about an idea, we’re less likely to
let roadblocks and failures hold us back.
Experience: We learn to make good choices in the big matters by
first making plenty of mistakes in small matters
Discipline: When we’re focused on an objective, we care more about
a vision than what other people think, thus we develop a natural
immunity from critics
Determination: When we become too busy making something of
ourselves, we don’t have time to think up excuses.
Creativity: Ambition produces enthusiasm, which leads to creativity
as our imagination is fueled by our excitement.
Not every effort will produce results, but the more ambitious we
are the greater tendency we have to develop these amazing

7. Are you passionate about some skill?
Why not get better at it? Have a
favorite cause? Go nuts. Are your kids
the center of your universe? Become
the best parent.
What we choose to chase after is
entirely personal. We can tell a lot
about what people value by how
committed they are to reaching at least
some level of achievement. Think
about that. Everyone is excited about
some idea, so chasing that idea can be
nothing but pure enjoyment even if we
fail. That’s the beauty of choosing our
own goals.
Many lives are spent merely following
in the footsteps of others or chasing

8. EVERY GREAT SUCCESS STORY HAS
AMBITION AS A COMMON DENOMINATOR
• Every great success story, every
incredible biography, any mind
blowing achievement we’ve ever
heard; all of them had ambition as
one of its core elements. The
path to anything great cannot be
reached without ambition.
• Strong desire matched with
intention is leading people to great
heights all around us all the time.
We should be asking ourselves,
“Why not us?” Are we in this game
called life or merely a spectator
watching others have all the fun.
We get to choose. But we must be
careful. If we choose to do nothing
that’s exactly what we’ll get.

9. Does this choice move me closer to my goal?
If not, why am I doing it? If our actions are not
inspired by some purpose than the choices
we make can get muddled in a hurry. Yet
when we define a goal, desire to achieve it,
and act upon those desires, these choices are
easy.
What is desirable yet unreachable to the
unmotivated is merely a destination to the
ambitious. With real ambition our biggest
goals become targets instead of mere hopes
and dreams which is a far more enjoyable
way to traverse through life.

10. We should always be striving for something. Once we stop , our lives lack meaning. A life not chasing a dream is like a
bucket of fireworks never set off. All the potential, excitement, fun; all of it wasted.
Imagine placing a tiny bet on a horse with the chance to win big. Even if we lose its still far more exciting to be at the race
with something at stake, especially when we share that enthusiasm with others. If we don’t put something down we’re
simply watching everyone else’s excitement. What kind of life is that?
At worst we have a fun story about failing and we are never left wondering what might have been. Few people reach the
end of their life regretting the things they tried. Being ambitious is almost entirely all upside.

11. SATISFACTION
One of the most gratifying elements in life is to set upon a worthy
and difficult goal and reach it after a long struggle. It was famed
football coach Vince Lombardi who years ago told his players:
There is no success without ambition. And even if there was, what
a pity it would be to stumble into success with ease. We’d have
none of the satisfaction nor pride in having overcome a challenge.
We can choose to avoid difficult goals in our life, but if so, we must
accept that we’ll never share in the pleasure of victory.

12. Strength comes from facing
difficulties and successfully
enduring. This is how we build
muscles, how we develop
courage, and how life itself
evolves. These traits are not
available to those who stay idle.
We must accept that we need to
be weak before we become
strong. It is part of the process.
Every great feat began with
meager steps often clouded with
hardship. Growth comes from
refusing to let adversity control our
destiny, and there is no better way
of realizing this than by striving to
accomplish a worthwhile
objective.

13. CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE
Consider the words that define someone who lacks ambition:
dull, lazy, conformist, dependent, boring, lethargic. None of
these should sound remotely appealing. They should make us
uneasy.
Genuine happiness is not going to be found by being dormant.