Being comfortable with your own ambitions is not easy. In fact, most of us have probably become so uncomfortable that we’ve dropped them. We’ve set our aim lower and “more realistic.”
It’s no longer worth trying to get your dream job because the narrative these days is that you’d be lucky to get any job. This is a sad reality that I see played out every day. Sophomores in college are accepting that fact that they will dislike their job in order to go into a field that makes more money. Where’s the ambition in that?
What happened to our dreams of changing the world?
Maybe they’ve been scared out of us. Maybe we did have ambitions and we shared them with our friends and they gave us a funny look. They made us feel weird because we had big dreams and they did not. We stood out because we dared, and they did not.
Let’s start to own our ambitions. Even if our friends think we’re weird in public, they’re probably thinking about your dreams at night and wishing they had that much drive. They’re probably waking up the next morning and thinking for the first time in years that maybe they should have a dream again.
Sometimes the best thing to hear is uncomfortable at first. Sharing your ambitions might put people off, but they’ll warm up to you. They’ll secretly admire you. They will desire to get clear on their direction just like you.
We’re all capable of amazing things. We have 4 years in college. Getting a job doesn’t require using everything you learn in your eight semesters. Getting a job requires taking a small risk to look at a company and see your passion intertwine with their mission. Getting a job takes a small risk of messaging an alum on Linkedin, or standing up and speaking at a networking event.
Let’s use our four years to chase our ambitions and take small risks that could have huge rewards. If you can show that you’re willing to put yourself out there for something you’re passionate about, you won’t have to worry about finding a job. You’ve already done the hard part. The hard part is caring.
It’s time to get comfortable with our ambitions. There’s no better time to own them. Chase your dream, share it with others and take the little steps to make it happen.
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