--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A person’s first duty, a young person’s…" description: "\"A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind something of permanent valu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg" --- # A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to… ![“A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind something of permanent value.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg) > “A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind something of permanent value.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young person should aim to create lasting contributions that outlive them. **In simple terms:** Create lasting value. Key Takeaway Strive for lasting impact. Themes ambition legacy purpose Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career building - artistic creation - philanthropy - entrepreneurship Key Concepts self‑actualization intergenerational impact Questions to Reflect On - What lasting contribution do you want to leave? - How can you balance ambition with health? A Different Perspective Ambition may clash with personal well‑being or realistic limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people KNOW more... though I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-like-to-add-some-beauty-to-life-said-anne-dreamily-i-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is our duty, my young friends, to resist old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/it-is-our-duty-my-young-friends-to-resist-old-age/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I feel it's my duty to get to the young players, tell them what's out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-schurrle/i-feel-it-s-my-duty-to-get-to-the-young-players-tell-them-what-s-out/) [Andre Schurrle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-schurrle/) > [National defense is the sacred duty of the young and all other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-il/national-defense-is-the-sacred-duty-of-the-young-and-all-other-people/) [Kim Jong Il](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-il/) > [When ambitious desires arise in thy heart, recall the days of extremity thou have passed through. Forbearance is the root of all quietness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-ambitious-desires-arise-in-thy-heart-recall-the-days-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's funny. Of all the jobs I've been ambitious for, this is one that never crossed my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-funny-of-all-the-jobs-i-ve-been-ambitious-for-this-is-one-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We do not need to have an agreed set of goals before we do something ambitious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-do-not-need-to-have-an-agreed-set-of-goals-before-we-do-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The history of each and every territory is written in the blood of those who died trying to fulfill the aspirations of their ambitious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-history-of-each-and-every-territory-is-written-in-the-blood-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always put your fears behind you and your dreams in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-put-your-fears-behind-you-and-your-dreams-in-front-of-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-honorable-enemies-rather-than-ambitious-ones-and-i-ll-sleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here we all live in a state of ambitious poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-we-all-live-in-a-state-of-ambitious-poverty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You sensed that you should be following a different path, a more ambitious one, you felt that you were destined for other things but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-sensed-that-you-should-be-following-a-different-path-a-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A nation can survive its fools, even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within…for the traitor appears not to be a traitor...he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-nation-can-survive-its-fools-even-the-ambitious-but-it-cannot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Let us see how high we can fly before the sun melts the wax in our wings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-see-how-high-we-can-fly-before-the-sun-melts-the-wax-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be ambitious, but never compromise yourself or anyone else to get to where you want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-ambitious-but-never-compromise-yourself-or-anyone-else-to-get-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind something of permanent value.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-at-any-rate-is-to-be-ambitious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-at-any-rate-is-to-be-ambitious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/136/anonymous-1_ambition_a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-a_386025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A person’s first duty, a young person’s at any rate, is to be ambitious, and the noblest ambition is that of…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A person’s first duty, a young...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-at-any-rate-is-to-be-ambitious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-s-first-duty-a-young-person-s-at-any-rate-is-to-be-ambitious/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```