Ambition: Why Some People Are Most Likely to Succeed

Humans often report the same kind of temperamental determinism. Families are full of stories of the inexhaustible infant who grew up to be an entrepreneur, the phlegmatic child who never really showed much go. But if it's genes that run the show, what accounts for the Shipps, who didn't bestir themselves until the cusp of adulthood? And what, more tellingly, explains identical twins — precise genetic templates of each other who ought to be temperamentally identical but often exhibit profound differences in the octane of their ambition? (See TIME's Wellness blog.)

Ongoing studies of identical twins have measured achievement motivation — lab language for ambition — in identical siblings separated at birth, and found that each twin's profile overlaps 30% to 50% of the other's. In genetic terms, that's an awful lot — "a benchmark for heritability," says geneticist Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute. But that still leaves a great deal that can be determined by experiences in infancy, subsequent upbringing and countless other imponderables.
Some of those variables may be found by studying the function of the brain. At Washington University, researchers have been conducting brain imaging to investigate a trait they call persistence — the ability to stay focused on a task until it's completed just so — which they consider one of the critical engines driving ambition.
The researchers recruited a sample group of students and gave each a questionnaire designed to measure persistence level. Then they presented the students with a task — identifying sets of pictures as either pleasant or unpleasant and taken either indoors or outdoors — while conducting magnetic resonance imaging of their brains. The nature of the task was unimportant, but how strongly the subjects felt about performing it well — and where in the brain that feeling was processed — could say a lot. In general, the researchers found that students who scored highest in persistence had the greatest activity in the limbic region, the area of the brain related to emotions and habits. "The correlation was .8 [or 80%]," says professor of psychiatry Robert Cloninger, one of the investigators. "That's as good as you can get."

It's impossible to say whether innate differences in the brain were driving the ambitious behavior or whether learned behavior was causing the limbic to light up. But a number of researchers believe it's possible for the nonambitious to jump-start their drive, provided the right jolt comes along. "Energy level may be genetic," says psychologist Simonton, "but a lot of times it's just finding the right thing to be ambitious about." Simonton and others often cite the case of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who might not have been the same President he became — or even become President at all — had his disabling polio not taught him valuable lessons about patience and tenacity.

Ambition means that a person does not live for himself and his life, but he lives for his ummah, as the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam was, as 'Aisha said about him. When `Abdullah bin Shaqeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, asked her if the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam used to pray sitting? She said, "Yes, after the people wrecked him." [Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud.] So he used to confront people, welcome them, and warmly leave them, command them, and prohibit them, mix up with them and tolerate their errors; that is why the people wrecked him sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam and left an effect upon his body to the point that he started to pray sitting and his hair turned gray.

Deen is three levels; Islam, then Imaan, then Ihsaan. In accordance with this division there is a trilateral division, "And we gave the book as an inheritance to those whom We chose from among our servants; but of them is he who makes his soul to suffer a loss, and of them is he who takes a middle course, and of them is he who is foremost in deeds of goodness by Allah's permission; this is the great excellence. [For them are] gardens of perpetual residence which they will enter. They shall be made to wear therein bracelets of gold and pearls, and their dress shall be silk." [Surat al-Faatir:32] Accordingly, there is another trilateral division that the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam mentioned, in the hadeeth of the saved group in which he mentioned Islam first which is the only guaranty for entering Paradise. That is; nobody enters Jannah but a Muslim, and inside this large circle which is the circle of Islam, there is a smaller circle which is the circle of the Saved group and it contains those who stick to the right conduct and correct aqeedah, and no more than that. There is a third cirle which is smaller than the second, and which is better, more noble and greater, and that is the circle of the Victorious group, those who defend and protect the deen and tolerate harm, therefore Allah Azza wa Jalla gives them victory.So the Muslim should be ambitious and reach for these levels, and look in the deen at the one who is above him and look in the duniya at that one who is beneath him. Try to resemble the noble ones, the righteous ones, the renewers, so that you may achieve some good in this life. Have an ambitious nafs that does not get satisfied with stopping at a certain limit, and does not get enough of doing good until it ends up in the Jannah.

ambition

Ambition
 is the desire for personal achievement. Ambitious persons seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority. Ambition is also the object of this desire.Also , Ambition is the desire for personal achievement. It provides the motivation and determination necessary to achieve goals in life. Ambitious people seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority. Ambition can also be defined as the object of this seekness.Ambition is a quality valued in leaders. One of the key traits of dark horse presidential candidates is ambition. They inspire others with their zeal, confidence, and energy.
Acquired power can be wielded in the name of a vague or clear ideal or multiple ideals. When ambition is used to seek a clear ideal, it develops a close relationship to extremism. Throughout human mankind, many examples can be found of people who were extremely ambitious, for better and for worse. The notorious Greek Herostratus had the ambition to become famous by destroying the Temple of Artemis