Ambition: How We Manage Success and Failure Throughout Our Lives

by Gilbert Brim

In this wise and profound book, a noted social psychologist draws on the latest research and theory on human development and, illustrating with arresting real life examples-from love and marriage, the workplace and careers, sports and games, and more-shows how we deal with winning and losing in our personal lives.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Leadership

219 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1992

Reviews

[Robert K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has given me an interesting new lens through which to view people and their actions and underlying motivations, and in fact, is most interesting when turned inward towards myself.

I immediately disliked this book when I started the prologue, because without having read the rest of the book first, it is really depressing. It would be better to read those in the opposite order.

[South Montana]

I just began reading this. In the prologue, the author describes his father's later years of productivity as a retired professor who maintained his rural homestead through his death at the age of 103. The author says that his father's interests and objectives adapted to his diminished physical capabilities as he aged, but that he found, until the very end, ways of adapting. I like the author's tone -- it is patient and gentle, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book three times. A must read during the aging process. Puts success and goals into true perspective.

Read again for the 4th time....

[Vijayshree Menon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book deeply explains the human nature of ambition and seeking goals. In our little world, we want to conquer the small and big hills that we encounter in life. Every human being has the drive for growth and mastery.
The best part is that it is not prescriptive of what we must or must not do. The author has laid out things the way he has seen it.

[Rob Tarling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a useful book for midlife, because it treats ambition as a life skill, not a personality type.

Brim’s main move is to broaden the meaning of the word. For him, ambition isn’t about status or competition. It’s the basic human drive to grow, learn, and become more capable over time.

From a life design perspective, the strongest idea is ‘just about manageable difficulty.’ Life goes flat when things are too easy. Life becomes defeating when the challenge is too big. The ideal middle ground is where you are stretched, but still able to cope and improve.

The other thing I liked is how the book describes what people do after winning and losing. After failure, we usually try a new approach first, then give ourselves more time, then lower our expectations, and only later give up the goal. After success, we tend to do the opposite: speed up, raise our aspirations, and add new goals.

Seen in this way, midlife is often a reset. It’s a period of updating goals, pace, and standards so they match our lived reality.

All in all, it’s a pretty useful framework for thinking about the second half of your life: keep learning, seek honest feedback, choose the right level of difficulty, and be willing to revise your goals without any shame.

3+ stars.

[Rosa Ventura]

What a great book- please read it- it has something for everyone. We as a species have to mange success and failure and how we do this is so important to our mental health.
Great book

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant musings on the topic. Nothing practical or groundbreaking.

[N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Effortlessly straddles the continuum between useless and unuseful without being infuriating

[Dana Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, simple structure and writing. Most of what he says makes intuitive sense. More descriptive than prescriptive. Makes me think harder about what my goals are, why I've chosen them, and what I expect when and if I achieve them.