How Seeing the World Helped Me Redefine My Ambition

This morning I woke up and mulled over taking a cab to Wadi Rum; a desert of mountains roughly 30 minutes away. 

The man who suggested the idea had a familiar quality about him and seemed to know everything about this port city had to offer. 

“Here is my card. Call me. I take you to Wadi Rum. I give you good price,” he said and then proceeded to hand me a brochure. 

“Wow, you have everything,” I chimed in. 

“Of course, I been a cab driver for 15 years. What do you think?” he schooled me. 

I then wondered if going to the desert was such a good idea. It was just north of 105 degrees by the water.

I walked the streets of Aqaba on three different occasions and took as many showers upon each drenched return. Almost nothing was open. It felt a bit like the American Rustbelt, a town now forgotten that had seen all of its jobs and stability shipped to some happier place far, far away. 

I naively thought all was quiet because of the overbearing heat, but soon remembered it was still Ramadan. God takes precedence over the sun, I thought. At least in these parts.

The word I’ve been turning over in my head these past few days has been “ambition.” I’ve always thought of myself as driven but have recently  reconsidered its meaning. 

In the States ambitious people are those who have accumulated a great deal of money, possessions, or titles. Admittedly, I hold many of the same associations and even long for some of those very things.

Yet, now I questioned why the man on my bus to Petra who’d visited over 100 countries would not find his name on the same short list as an Elon Musks, or Richard Branson. 

Are there not different types of ambition? 

Is there not the ambition to see more? 

Experience more? 

Try more? 

Live more?

BE more?

Would any of the world’s richest CEO’s and founders trade their titles and summer homes to be less fearful, to know a little more about a lot, to be versed in in 5, maybe 6 languages, to return home after seeing the world and reprimand someone for conjecturing in a bar what Muslims believe, or Asians eat, or what the “third world” looks like? 

What wealth to be able to tell someone, “I was proven wrong by breaking bread." 

Isn’t that wealth as well? Isn’t that “ambition” also worth pursuing?

                                                                   -----

If you enjoyed this article, sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter with my favorite book, film, and travel recommendations in addition to my latest articles on productivity and inspiration.

Plus, I’d love to share my free Creativity Day Planner — a simple two -page template on building good daily habits.