Ambition Must be Fed

“In life, there are two wolves inside of us which are always at battle, one representing growth, drive, determination and one representing jealousy, ego, and spite, which one wins?”

Your young, enthusiastic Engineer will absorb information faster than you can promote them; they will know about modern technology and will outperform you in an examination due to their youth. It may be a reaction to stifle this enthusiasm as it may result in them “failing”, but this creates uncertainty, frustration, and less competitive engineers. The mindset you feed them will stay with them for the rest of their working career.

There must be one option as a leader, manager, or mentor. Make it your mission to develop this person with a drive for their career, which matches your own, and if they move on to other opportunities, be proud you were there to guide them.

Further reading

What is ambition…? “I'm still trying to figure that one out myself.”

Each of us strives for something, whatever that something is; typically, it is some value to us; it may be an item we want to purchase, a status we want to obtain, but obtaining or purchasing these things will never feed ambition. Therefore, the only thing that will feed ambition must come in the pursuit of something, whatever that thing is. The only way to stay satisfied is to make a daily effort towards it, and once you achieve it, then focus on something else, but you must enjoy the process more than the outcome. Otherwise, ambition fades over time.