“The test is, ‘Will you give more to the world than you take?’”
Oof. That line is both bracing and beautiful. It has a kind of moral clarity, but also a tenderness if you read it slowly.
It made me think about how much we “take” just by being human. Space, resources, attention, care. And how easy it is to turn that into shame, like existence itself is a debt. But the way you frame it feels different. More like an invitation into reciprocity, not repayment.
What if giving more than we take isn’t a pressure, but a posture? A way of being in the conversation of life with open hands. That line will echo with me today.
Hi Alex. I think asking Stanier's question, "Will you give more to the world than you take?" is just enough to put us into a different kind of thinking - that posture that you mentioned (and I love that framing BTW). I think so much of our ambitions CAN be self-centered and perhaps what the enoughness advocates react against. Stanier opens it up for me, shines a different light, and nudges me to think beyond myself. Cheers!
Interesting essay and one that sits nicely with my morning reading from Mark Nepo's book, Awakening where he talks about the greed of wanting everything when it comes to existences. Ambition is great if it doesn't come from a place of lack of insufficiency, but sometimes I find that my ambition or striving for something I want pushes away any time or space to make a difference. I am not a religious person, but I saw a book in a box on the street with the title, God's To Do List. I have taken to asking myself what God would want me to do; spend 2 hours writing or use that time to sit with a friend who just lost her husband, etc. It has been helpful framing for me.
What a book title! Did you pick up the book? I'm not religious either - I can only imagine what it was about. What I appreciate about Stanier's two ambitions is that it's not one or the other, but both. Sometimes, what I do is more about myself, and sometimes, it's more about the world beyond me. And if I'm lucky, every now and again, the two shall be one and the same. 😊
Hi Lani. Yeah, we all have to arrive at our answers individually and quite specific to who we are or the life we're (always) shaping, right? But I have to say, I've always thought professions like yours have such a natural outward-facing element that is about other people and not oneself, which makes it immune to being a self-centered ambition. Stanier would say you are naturally ambitious for the world :)
I loved this reflection, Lou. It was one of those pieces that I think will stay with me as I process all that is here. I too was struck by the question "Will you give more to the world than you take?" I need to sit with that one. How would I measure that, especially in a world where I have been given so much?
And I loved the discussion of ambition and "enoughness." I've often struggled, particularly at my age, with how to be with all this lingering ambition. Today I listened to a podcast that was new to me called Sustainable Ambition by Kathy Oneto. It was about finding your sustainable zone on that continuum between languishing and burning out. If you haven't seen her podcast, I'd recommend her latest episode "The U-curve of Ambition."
I love that phrase you used ... "lingering ambition". I've always been ambitious but it was sort of a one-trick pony for a long time - always about the career. I find that after corporate life, my ambitions have become diversified! But also somewhat less all-consuming. I know that podcast well; I actually know Kathy Oneto, funnily enough!
This: "Contrary to some overly simplistic presentation, enoughness, then, may not be the absence of ambition at all. It may be what keeps ambition from breaking down and collapsing inward. It can be a way of measuring success not by how much we secure for ourselves, but by how generously our efforts extend beyond us." You cut right to the heart of it there, Lou. With Cultivating Terraphilia and my other work, I aim to be ambitious in the outward sense, the non-ego sense: my intention is to add to the Light and love in the world in a way that inspires others to live in community with this extraordinary earth too. Thank you for crystalizing that for me. Blessings to you!
It's interesting how much freight the word "ambitious" carries for me. I come from a class and culture (middle class, white, Scandinavian/Scots) where it's fine to be ambitious, but not to talk about it. And certainly not to brag. So even using the word ambitious makes me squirm a little. Guess I need to work through that!
It's so interesting how we relate to this word. I grew up "requiring" (I can't think of a better word right now) to be ambitious or I'd never amount to anything. LOL. The world I entered professionally (highly competitive corporate) was filled with ambitious people, and it was all fine to be one and to talk about it. LOL. Then something happened to me a few years ago when I began to feel "funny" about the word... and it's only recently when I began to embrace it again.
Exactly. We forget sometimes that words are just symbols, ways to communicate some kind of meaning. When they become too laden with baggage and make us feel funny, it's time to reevaluate the meanings we've assigned them, as you've done with such clarity in this post.
“The test is, ‘Will you give more to the world than you take?’”
Oof. That line is both bracing and beautiful. It has a kind of moral clarity, but also a tenderness if you read it slowly.
It made me think about how much we “take” just by being human. Space, resources, attention, care. And how easy it is to turn that into shame, like existence itself is a debt. But the way you frame it feels different. More like an invitation into reciprocity, not repayment.
What if giving more than we take isn’t a pressure, but a posture? A way of being in the conversation of life with open hands. That line will echo with me today.
Hi Alex. I think asking Stanier's question, "Will you give more to the world than you take?" is just enough to put us into a different kind of thinking - that posture that you mentioned (and I love that framing BTW). I think so much of our ambitions CAN be self-centered and perhaps what the enoughness advocates react against. Stanier opens it up for me, shines a different light, and nudges me to think beyond myself. Cheers!
Interesting essay and one that sits nicely with my morning reading from Mark Nepo's book, Awakening where he talks about the greed of wanting everything when it comes to existences. Ambition is great if it doesn't come from a place of lack of insufficiency, but sometimes I find that my ambition or striving for something I want pushes away any time or space to make a difference. I am not a religious person, but I saw a book in a box on the street with the title, God's To Do List. I have taken to asking myself what God would want me to do; spend 2 hours writing or use that time to sit with a friend who just lost her husband, etc. It has been helpful framing for me.
What a book title! Did you pick up the book? I'm not religious either - I can only imagine what it was about. What I appreciate about Stanier's two ambitions is that it's not one or the other, but both. Sometimes, what I do is more about myself, and sometimes, it's more about the world beyond me. And if I'm lucky, every now and again, the two shall be one and the same. 😊
I didn't pick up the book. The title was enough for me.
Great topic, great article.
Some excellent quotes and food for thought here, Lou. This is one of those things that I wish everyone could contemplate and make it their own. xo
Hi Lani. Yeah, we all have to arrive at our answers individually and quite specific to who we are or the life we're (always) shaping, right? But I have to say, I've always thought professions like yours have such a natural outward-facing element that is about other people and not oneself, which makes it immune to being a self-centered ambition. Stanier would say you are naturally ambitious for the world :)
I loved this reflection, Lou. It was one of those pieces that I think will stay with me as I process all that is here. I too was struck by the question "Will you give more to the world than you take?" I need to sit with that one. How would I measure that, especially in a world where I have been given so much?
And I loved the discussion of ambition and "enoughness." I've often struggled, particularly at my age, with how to be with all this lingering ambition. Today I listened to a podcast that was new to me called Sustainable Ambition by Kathy Oneto. It was about finding your sustainable zone on that continuum between languishing and burning out. If you haven't seen her podcast, I'd recommend her latest episode "The U-curve of Ambition."
I love that phrase you used ... "lingering ambition". I've always been ambitious but it was sort of a one-trick pony for a long time - always about the career. I find that after corporate life, my ambitions have become diversified! But also somewhat less all-consuming. I know that podcast well; I actually know Kathy Oneto, funnily enough!
Cool!
This: "Contrary to some overly simplistic presentation, enoughness, then, may not be the absence of ambition at all. It may be what keeps ambition from breaking down and collapsing inward. It can be a way of measuring success not by how much we secure for ourselves, but by how generously our efforts extend beyond us." You cut right to the heart of it there, Lou. With Cultivating Terraphilia and my other work, I aim to be ambitious in the outward sense, the non-ego sense: my intention is to add to the Light and love in the world in a way that inspires others to live in community with this extraordinary earth too. Thank you for crystalizing that for me. Blessings to you!
Cultivating Terraphilia is such a gift, Susan, and is in such alignment with what Stanier refers to in his book as "ambitious for the world". 🤗
It's interesting how much freight the word "ambitious" carries for me. I come from a class and culture (middle class, white, Scandinavian/Scots) where it's fine to be ambitious, but not to talk about it. And certainly not to brag. So even using the word ambitious makes me squirm a little. Guess I need to work through that!
It's so interesting how we relate to this word. I grew up "requiring" (I can't think of a better word right now) to be ambitious or I'd never amount to anything. LOL. The world I entered professionally (highly competitive corporate) was filled with ambitious people, and it was all fine to be one and to talk about it. LOL. Then something happened to me a few years ago when I began to feel "funny" about the word... and it's only recently when I began to embrace it again.
Exactly. We forget sometimes that words are just symbols, ways to communicate some kind of meaning. When they become too laden with baggage and make us feel funny, it's time to reevaluate the meanings we've assigned them, as you've done with such clarity in this post.