--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: not only have children most certainly a…" description: "\"not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.\" — Cornelia Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg" --- # not only have children most certainly a right to their own… ![“not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.” quote by Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg) > “not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.” [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children have the right to both pursue ambitions and to lack them, emphasizing freedom of choice in aspiration. **In simple terms:** Children can choose to have or not have ambitions. Key Takeaway Respect individual aspirations. Themes freedom choice child development Mood thoughtful empathetic open Type educational ethical When to use this quote - parenting - school curricula - career counseling - personal development Key Concepts education philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you support a child's authentic goals? - What role should society play in shaping ambition? A Different Perspective Pressuring ambition can be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitions/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Lack of ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-ambition/) ## Related quotes > [For a people, as for an individual, it is tragic to have ambitions and to lack both the means essential to their fulfillment and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/for-a-people-as-for-an-individual-it-is-tragic-to-have-ambitions-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I will rejoice the day when they say: This is right whether we all rot on top of each other or not, dear children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-will-rejoice-the-day-when-they-say-this-is-right-whether-we-all-rot/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Children certainly can't learn if they're dealing with trauma or mental illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-reynolds/children-certainly-can-t-learn-if-they-re-dealing-with-trauma-or/) [Kim Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-reynolds/) > [Children are certainly too good to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/children-are-certainly-too-good-to-be-true/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The power of hope! Even a lack of ambition can, for a time, pay off as a necessary facet, as long as hope outweighs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-power-of-hope-even-a-lack-of-ambition-can-for-a-time-pay-off-as-a/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Sometimes, I think there's a lack of ambition in me. But then sometimes, I think, no, you can, like William Blake said, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/sometimes-i-think-there-s-a-lack-of-ambition-in-me-but-then-sometimes/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [... no young colored person in the United States today can truthfully offer as an excuse for lack of ambition or aspiration that members…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-church-terrell/no-young-colored-person-in-the-united-states-today-can-truthfully/) [Mary Church Terrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-church-terrell/) > [We have now an American political party and a European one. Not all Americans who vote for the European party want to become Europeans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mansfield/we-have-now-an-american-political-party-and-a-european-one-not-all/) [Harvey Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mansfield/) > [There's a lack of ambition in politics in terms of what we expect from the government, what it means to have a state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-and-the-queens/there-s-a-lack-of-ambition-in-politics-in-terms-of-what-we-expect/) [Christine and the Queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-and-the-queens/) > [“The most dangerous things in life are overeating and the lack of ambition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-most-dangerous-things-in-life-are-overeating-and-the-lack-of/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Whatever you think of Facebook, you cannot fault it for lack of ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whatever-you-think-of-facebook-you-cannot-fault-it-for-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Your lack of ambition is truly remarkable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/your-lack-of-ambition-is-truly-remarkable/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [It's the lack of ambition that cripples most people, and makes them so pedestrian in the advertising/creative business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-s-the-lack-of-ambition-that-cripples-most-people-and-makes-them-so/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [“A burning desire to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must take off. Dreams are not born of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-burning-desire-to-be-and-to-do-is-the-starting-point-from-which-the-2/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) ## More by Cornelia Parker > [People often want the big dramatic works, not the smaller quieter ones, but I don't worry about how it fits together anymore; I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/people-often-want-the-big-dramatic-works-not-the-smaller-quieter-ones/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I like the idea of taking three-dimensional objects and making them two-dimensional so that they look like cartoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-like-the-idea-of-taking-three-dimensional-objects-and-making-them/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As you get older, things don't work as well. I do Pilates, and that helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-you-get-older-things-don-t-work-as-well-i-do-pilates-and-that-helps/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [The main trouble with this civilized world isn't that we adventure too much, but that we fail to adventure enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/the-main-trouble-with-this-civilized-world-isn-t-that-we-adventure/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I'm from a working-class background - I had free school meals all my life and then spent six years in art school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-m-from-a-working-class-background-i-had-free-school-meals-all-my/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Violence is part of everybody's life, whether you like or express it or not. My work utilises all the energies that I have, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/violence-is-part-of-everybody-s-life-whether-you-like-or-express-it/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Dust, in the end, settles on everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/dust-in-the-end-settles-on-everything/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [If I'm not doing the work I want, I usually suffer a psychological allergic reaction and get ill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/if-i-m-not-doing-the-work-i-want-i-usually-suffer-a-psychological/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [After leaving college, I was in a show called Sculpture by Women where I was asked to talk about my history of victimisation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/after-leaving-college-i-was-in-a-show-called-sculpture-by-women-where/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I think my work is like a spiral: you keep coming back on yourself, but you're at a different place. It's like reading 'Nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-my-work-is-like-a-spiral-you-keep-coming-back-on-yourself-but/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I think your subconscious knows far more than your conscious, so I trust it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-think-your-subconscious-knows-far-more-than-your-conscious-so-i/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Paul Auster is my favourite writer, and I'm sure he'd be a very interesting person to share a journey with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/paul-auster-is-my-favourite-writer-and-i-m-sure-he-d-be-a-very/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [Heaven grants the human being who has learned to live alone a deep measure of such rewards that verily would one hesitate to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/heaven-grants-the-human-being-who-has-learned-to-live-alone-a-deep/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [I was very physical as a child - we lived on a smallholding, and I was always outside making mud pies or building structures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/i-was-very-physical-as-a-child-we-lived-on-a-smallholding-and-i-was/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [As a working-class girl, receiving free school dinners, I studied art history. Having never had the chance to visit art galleries, I devoured the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/as-a-working-class-girl-receiving-free-school-dinners-i-studied-art/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) [Explore all 114 Cornelia Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) ## 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": "not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornelia Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a-right-to-their-own-ambitions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a-right-to-their-own-ambitions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/cornelia-parker-4217_ambition_not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a_504091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“not only have children most certainly a right to their own ambitions, but their own lack of ambitions.” — Cornelia Parker", "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": "Cornelia Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "not only have children most certainly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a-right-to-their-own-ambitions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/not-only-have-children-most-certainly-a-right-to-their-own-ambitions/#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 } } ] } ```