Where does ambition come from? Consider the case of Jordan Belfort, the subject of the movie The Wolf of Wall Street, which we saw today. In his early twenties he pursued and achieved what some might say was obscene wealth, at least the way he spent his money. Or rather the money he got mostly from cheating other people.
Did Belfort have more ambition than others? More luck? Fewer scruples? In any case, he knew what he wanted and he got it. In many ways he's the opposite of Woody Grant, the elderly main character in the movie Nebraska who becomes convinced that he has won a million dollars from a magazine peddling company. "I didn't even know he wanted to be a millionaire," Woody's wife says. "He should have thought of that years ago and worked for it."
And then there's Lloyd Dobler, the teenaged hero of the classic movie, Say Anything. When asked at the dinner table about his plans for the future, Lloyd answers like this:
You mean like career? Uh, I don't know. I've, I've thought about this quite a bit sir, and I'd have to say considering what's waiting out there for me, I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.
He is, as he tells his guidance counselor, "looking for a dare to be great situation."
So, where does ambition come from? Maybe a better question is what does ambition look like, or even who gets to say what ambition is?
I ask these questions in consideration of the four boys I know, two of them 18 and two of them 21, who are nearing that threshold of self-direction and independence, and I wonder where their ambitions will take them.
I have my fingers crossed for a few dare to be great situations.
