Ambition Monster or Slacker?
What’s Your Relationship With Ambition?
Happy new year my loves!
This is one of my least favorite email months of the year. My inbox is flooded with ways to fix myself or force myself into a set of goals that don’t honor me in totality. And what if you don’t feel ready to set goals or intentions? If you feel this way, you’re not alone.
Did you know the new year starting on January 1st is a relatively new concept? Ancient traditions from the Babylonians to the Persians actually celebrated the new year closer to the spring equinox. So, if you don't feel ready for new year new you, that’s okay! Honor that and seize that energy whenever it becomes available to you. This month, I’m moving at my own pace and still honoring goals I set several years ago.
Which brings me to the thing I wanted to talk about today: Ambition.
Out of curiosity, what’s your relationship to ambition?
Would you say you’re an ambitious person, or do you have an allergic reaction to that word?
“Ambition” is one of those culturally complex, politically loaded words that manages to highlight either our defects or our strengths, depending on who is being labeled. Ambitious women are often considered “too much,” for example, while ambitious men are seen as driven and powerful.
And one of the challenges in the way we’ve come to be in relationship with ambition is that we believe it has a never-ending upward trajectory—that it’s more for more’s sake all the time. This approach costs us our health, our relationships, and ultimately upholds oppressive systems.
But let’s be clear, I am by no means asking you to be less successful or to renounce your ambition. In fact, I am one of the most ambitious people I know, and I bet you are too.
What I am inviting you to do is to do is be in right relationship with it.
Because ambition in its purest form is simply a desire to unfold. It’s neutral and natural. Every living thing on the planet is encoded with that desire. From a blade of grass to a cheetah roaming the savannah. And as humans were the only species that has a choice in how we direct that desire to unfold.
But as society we believe that there are two modes—ambition monster or total slacker. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Like all things in life, there are a million shades of grey in between.
So, this month, as you perhaps sit down to chart your course for the year, I want you to ask yourself a few questions about your desire for growth:
Is my ambition coming from a core wound, place of pain, or is it connected to my purpose?
Why do I want this next level of growth? What will it make possible for me, my family, my community, the greater good?
Has my identity shaped my ambition? If so, in what ways?
What cultural conversations have shaped my ambition? Do I want to rewrite any of those stories?
I want to use my ambition in service of (fill in the blank).
To your ambitious next level,
Amina
Community Spotlights
Every year, I get to work with amazing service providers who shape and uplift my business. This year, I wanted to share some of those all-stars with you!
Podcast and Creative Support: Sam Sedlack Creative is an amazing boutique agency that focuses on storytelling and brand strategy. Sam has supported me with the podcast, email, and social and is a TOTAL ROCKSTAR. As a queer, trauma-informed creative, I always appreciate their intersectional lens.
SEO: I have worked with Fred Shramovich of Orange and Blue Web Design since my marketing days. Him and his team have worked with mega brands to brand new start-ups and are such thoughtful and hands on support for organic search.
Brand Identity and Illustration: Pilar Torcal of Atelier Torcal is the Beyoncé of illustration and design. She did my website and helped art direct my book cover and we have a few other fun surprises coming from her this year too. She’s EPIC.
Email Marketing and Social Media: I was lucky enough to work with Kiki Von Glinow and Toast Media Group in the early days of my coaching and they set up such a rigorous strategy for us. In fact, I still pull from that playbook today. They’re amazing!
Operations Support: Ops is one of my least favorite but most necessary areas of the business. Nicole and Camilla of Designed by O.P.S. are operations and tech all-stars who came and waved a wand over my business. I have systems and SOPs for everything and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Podcast Roundup
Career Forecast
For this month's career forecast, I pulled Higher Perspective, Strength, and The Alchemist—a truly powerful spread! 🌟
Life’s little frustrations can often weigh us down, but this reading invites you to rise above the noise. Where you feel resistance, try shifting your view to a higher perspective. It might feel uncomfortable at first, requiring you to tap into deep reserves of strength and resilience. But from this elevated vantage point, solutions to stubborn challenges may finally become clear.
The Alchemist signals transformation—a metamorphosis is on the horizon. Just like the caterpillar that becomes a butterfly, discomfort is a natural and necessary part of this growth. Now is the perfect time to plant the seeds of change. Dig deep, lean into your resilience, and trust the process. On the other side of this transformation lies a garden full of beautiful possibilities. 🌱🦋
