"Ambition is a tricky little animal to..." - Quote by Thomas Jefferson
Ambition is a tricky little animal to tame. It is very skillful at concealing itself from its master.
More by Thomas Jefferson
“It is not only vain, but wicked, in a legislator to frame laws in opposition to the laws of nature, and to arm them with the terrors of death. This is truly creating crimes in order to punish them.”
“Communities should be planned with an eye to the effect on the human spirit of being continually surrounded by a maximum of beauty.”
“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”
More on Ambition
“Ever since childhood I have scorned the commonplace limits so often set upon human ambition. Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury - to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone; best both for the body and the mind”
“We fail, not because of big problems, but because of small purposes.”
“May your dreams defy the laws of gravity.”
More on Self Awareness
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.”
“Do not be surprised. I do not like writers and I cannot stand their lies. They speak so as not to listen to themselves speak. If they did listen, they would know that they are nothing and then they would no longer be able to speak.”
“Nothing could be more absurd than moral lessons at such a moment! Oh, self-satisfied people: with what proud self-satisfaction such babblers are ready to utter their pronouncements! If they only knew to what degree I myself understand all the loathsomeness of my present condition, they wouldn't have the heart to teach me.”