Thoughts on ambition

American monk

A man’s worth is no greater than his ambitions.

—Marcus Aurelius

Roman emperor

Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.

—Oscar Wilde

Irish poet & playwright

Big results require big ambitions.

—Heraclitus

Greek philosopher

Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.

—Elvis Presley

American singer & actor

Ambition can creep as well as soar.

—Edmund Burke

Irish statesman

Men rise from one ambition to another: First, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.

—Niccolo Machiavelli

Italian diplomat

Ambition beats genius 99 percent of the time.

—Jay Leno

American television host

Basically you have to suppress your own ambitions in order to be who you need to be.

—Bob Dylan

American singer-songwriter

Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.

—Mark Twain

American author

The psychoanalysis of neurotics has taught us to recognise the intimate connection between wetting the bed and the character trait of ambition.

—Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist