--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An unavoidable side effect of ambition is…" description: "\"“An unavoidable side effect of ambition is to be gnawed by ambition anxiety about whether you’re going to succeed. You’re bound to feel it in your twen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/charles-murray-6573_ambition_an-unavoidable-side-effect-of-ambition-i_3054764.jpg" --- # An unavoidable side effect of ambition is to be gnawed by… ![“An unavoidable side effect of ambition is to be gnawed by ambition anxiety about whether you’re going to succeed. You’re bound to feel it in your twenties and thirties. Put it away in your forties. By that time, you should have learned enough to recognize that fame and wealth are trivial—really…” quote by Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/charles-murray-6573_ambition_an-unavoidable-side-effect-of-ambition-i_3054764.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/charles-murray-6573_ambition_an-unavoidable-side-effect-of-ambition-i_3054764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/charles-murray-6573_ambition_an-unavoidable-side-effect-of-ambition-i_3054764.jpg) > ““An unavoidable side effect of ambition is to be gnawed by ambition anxiety about whether you’re going to succeed. You’re bound to feel it in your twenties and thirties. Put it away in your forties. By that time, you should have learned enough to recognize that fame and wealth are trivial—really, truly trivial—to a life well lived.”” [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition brings anxiety early in life; later, fame and wealth seem trivial compared to a well‑lived life. **In simple terms:** Early ambition causes anxiety; later trivial. Key Takeaway Prioritize meaningful life over status. Themes ambition anxiety life purpose Mood reflective serene Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - mid‑life reflection - career planning - mental health Key Concepts existentialism career development Questions to Reflect On - When did you feel ambition anxiety? - What defines a well‑lived life? A Different Perspective Some may dismiss anxiety as insignificant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-anxiety-5096816/) [Ambition Gnawed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-gnawed-5096817/) [Effect Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-ambition-5096815/) [Fame Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame-wealth-659801/) [Life well lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-well-lived/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Twenties Thirties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties-thirties-492442/) ## Related quotes > [“A prominent person would utilize his or her talent to inspire and benefit others instead of excessively craving for fame and wealth to only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saaif-alam/a-prominent-person-would-utilize-his-or-her-talent-to-inspire-and/) [Saaif Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saaif-alam/) > [“Knowledge, Power, Fame, and Wealth cannot give you Eternal life but Salvation will”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-asumadu-sarkodie/knowledge-power-fame-and-wealth-cannot-give-you-eternal-life-but/) [Samuel Asumadu-Sarkodie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-asumadu-sarkodie/) > [Writers write for fame, wealth, power and the love of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/writers-write-for-fame-wealth-power-and-the-love-of-women/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Wisdom is neither gold, nor silver, nor fame, nor wealth, nor health, nor strength, nor beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/wisdom-is-neither-gold-nor-silver-nor-fame-nor-wealth-nor-health-nor/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Died of making it big are my desire, which was before / while you were / were with dreams / Now do not you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/died-of-making-it-big-are-my-desire-which-was-before-while-you-were/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Hope roves in a future of fame and wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelbert-von-chamisso/hope-roves-in-a-future-of-fame-and-wealth/) [Adelbert von Chamisso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelbert-von-chamisso/) > [Love, when it came and knocked on my door, was going to be enough. 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The Tea party sees the aloofness in a political elite that thinks it knows best and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/people-are-starting-to-notice-the-great-divide-the-tea-party-sees-the/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [You can learn a lot about good management by working under someone who is a bad manager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/you-can-learn-a-lot-about-good-management-by-working-under-someone/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [I want to keep the government out of the business of giving incentives to have or not have kids, or incentives to marry or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/i-want-to-keep-the-government-out-of-the-business-of-giving/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [You know, there is an image of me out there for which advocacy of a universal basic income is inconsistent. 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Let's see: if you have a guy who was married for 13 years to an Asian woman and who has two lovely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/white-supremacist-let-s-see-if-you-have-a-guy-who-was-married-for-13/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [When America installs a minimum income, it's going to be doing it in a very different historical context than Switzerland or Sweden or Germany,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/when-america-installs-a-minimum-income-it-s-going-to-be-doing-it-in-a/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [It takes a lot of courage, self-confidence, and stubbornness to be an openly committed Christian - or openly committed to any of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/it-takes-a-lot-of-courage-self-confidence-and-stubbornness-to-be-an/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [By the end of writing 'Losing Ground,' I realized I was a libertarian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/by-the-end-of-writing-losing-ground-i-realized-i-was-a-libertarian/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [Don't argue that you can't find a job that pays enough to support yourself. You can. You just can't find a job that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/don-t-argue-that-you-can-t-find-a-job-that-pays-enough-to-support/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [Trumpism' is the expression by the white working class of a lot of legitimate grievances that it has with the ruling class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/trumpism-is-the-expression-by-the-white-working-class-of-a-lot-of/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [“Joan played den mother to the rebirth of American individualism. That she filled that role for so many is why I am grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/joan-played-den-mother-to-the-rebirth-of-american-individualism-that/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [No woman has been a significant original thinker in any of the world's great philosophical traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/no-woman-has-been-a-significant-original-thinker-in-any-of-the-world/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [“Four American traits were central to the evolution of that culture: industriousness, egalitarianism, religiosity, and an amalgam of philanthropy and volunteerism that was uniquely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/four-american-traits-were-central-to-the-evolution-of-that-culture/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [“A free society is most threatened not by uses of government that are obviously bad, but by uses of government that seem obviously good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/a-free-society-is-most-threatened-not-by-uses-of-government-that-are/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [The people who run the country have enormous influence over the culture, politics, and the economics of the country. And increasingly, they haven't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/the-people-who-run-the-country-have-enormous-influence-over-the/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) [Explore all 98 Charles Murray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) ## 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": "“An unavoidable side effect of ambition is to be gnawed by ambition anxiety about whether you’re going to succeed. 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