Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be developed.

It is stasis that kills you off in the end, not ambition.

Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and to do more.

If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.

Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge.

To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labor tends, and of which every desire prompts prosecution.

There are two ways to get enough: One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.

Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment.

It is hard to fight desire; but to control it is the sign of a reasonable man.

For you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you.

Suppose your whole world seems to rock on its foundations. Hold on steadily, let it rock, and when the rocking is over, the picture will have reassembled itself into something much nearer to your heart's desire.

No matter who you are or what your position you must keeping fighting for whatever it is you desire to achieve.

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.

All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being.