“A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions” – Marcus Aurelius

“Ambition is like a gulf. Everything is swallowed up in it and buried.” - Seneca

Most of us grew up on the phrase that money isn’t everything. But today we want to explore… is money still… something? Does it contribute to our happiness? Or was Jay Z right when he said mo money mo problems?

The modern virtue we’re looking at in all of this is ambition. And because so many people include financial goals in their aspirations, we want to play with our relationship with money and material things.

But then ambition also comes into many other parts of our lives. Today, goal attainment is always in front of our faces, and society is constantly planting these seeds that we should do more, be more, achieve more. But today the fast pace of the world has been disrupted. And we have a moment of solace to actually ask: are high achievers actually happier? In a world where busy is the new normal, is ambition a good thing? Or should we be wary of the possible negative states it can lead to?

Structure for today:

1. The science behind income/wealth acquisition and happiness

2. Lottery winners – curse or blessing?

3. Ancient philosophy on money and wealth

4. Broader ambition, including some very odd research on academy award winners and Olympic medallists

5. Different perspectives on the light and dark side of ambition, from goal setting to how we spend our money, to external focus vs. internal focus, and lots of other things that broke my brain.

See uncomfortablemillennials.com for some of the sources referenced.