--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts…" description: "\"Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.\" — Emile M. Cioran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/emile-m-cioran-1211_addict_ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addict_140989.jpg" --- # Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen. ![“Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.” quote by Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/emile-m-cioran-1211_addict_ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addict_140989.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/emile-m-cioran-1211_addict_ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addict_140989.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c03/emile-m-cioran-1211_addict_ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addict_140989.jpg) > “Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.” [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition acts like a drug, turning its users into potentially dangerous, irrational individuals. **In simple terms:** Ambition can make people reckless. Key Takeaway Temper ambition. Themes psychology danger irrationality Mood cautionary philosophical Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - political power - creative pursuits - personal goals - leadership Key Concepts addiction hubris self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - When does ambition become harmful? - Can ambition be channeled positively? A Different Perspective Ambition can also drive achievement when managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addicts/) [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Madmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madmen/) ## Related quotes > [“Ambition is a drug that turns it's addicts into potential madmen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-cioran/ambition-is-a-drug-that-turns-it-s-addicts-into-potential-madmen/) Emile Cioran > [I would like to go mad on one condition, namely, that I would become a happy madman, lively and always in a good mood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/i-would-like-to-go-mad-on-one-condition-namely-that-i-would-become-a/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Speech and silence. We feel safer with a madman who talks than with one who cannot open his mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/speech-and-silence-we-feel-safer-with-a-madman-who-talks-than-with/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Frankly I'm not great with heroin addicts. I tried heroin, but it was by accident. I'm not great with that level of substance abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/frankly-i-m-not-great-with-heroin-addicts-i-tried-heroin-but-it-was/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [“As each day passed the community became more and more indoctrinated into the world of psychobabble. It was used to keep patients in subservient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-stephanie-schoenberger/as-each-day-passed-the-community-became-more-and-more-indoctrinated/) M.D Stephanie Schoenberger > [“Can I tell you the truth? I mean this isn’t the TV news is it? Here's what I think the truth is: We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/can-i-tell-you-the-truth-i-mean-this-isn-t-the-tv-news-is-it-here-s/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“replicates the feeling provided by an illegal drug that addicts will kill to possess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/replicates-the-feeling-provided-by-an-illegal-drug-that-addicts-will/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [I found myself being more and more involved with people who were rejected by society - with drug addicts, alcoholism, battered this, battered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-found-myself-being-more-and-more-involved-with-people-who-were/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [There are criminals who are drug users, but most addicts are criminals only by virtue of prohibition or from resorting to crime to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-sugerman/there-are-criminals-who-are-drug-users-but-most-addicts-are-criminals/) Danny Sugerman > [When people who believe themselves to be addicts or alcoholics come under great stress or trauma, they mentally give themselves permission to drink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/when-people-who-believe-themselves-to-be-addicts-or-alcoholics-come/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [Then there are the addicts, the hunger addicts, the rage addicts, the poverty addicts , and power addicts, and the pure addicts who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-thayil/then-there-are-the-addicts-the-hunger-addicts-the-rage-addicts-the/) [Jeet Thayil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-thayil/) > [It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-not-heroin-or-cocaine-that-makes-one-an-addict-it-is-the-need/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [Taxpayers would likely be responsible for treating addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/taxpayers-would-likely-be-responsible-for-treating-addicts/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) ## More by Emile M. Cioran > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Progress is the injustice each generation commits with regard to its predecessors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/progress-is-the-injustice-each-generation-commits-with-regard-to-its/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [To defy heredity is to defy billions of years, to defy the first cell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/to-defy-heredity-is-to-defy-billions-of-years-to-defy-the-first-cell/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [A people represents not so much an aggregate of ideas and theories as of obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/a-people-represents-not-so-much-an-aggregate-of-ideas-and-theories-as/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > ["The Holy Ghost," Luther instructs us, "is not a skeptic." Not everyone can be, and that is really too bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/the-holy-ghost-luther-instructs-us-is-not-a-skeptic-not-everyone-can/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Every word affords me pain. Yet how sweet it would be if I could hear what the flowers have to say about death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/every-word-affords-me-pain-yet-how-sweet-it-would-be-if-i-could-hear/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Woes and wonders of Power, that tonic hell, synthesis of poison and panacea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/woes-and-wonders-of-power-that-tonic-hell-synthesis-of-poison-and/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [If each of us were to confess his most secret desire, the one that inspires all his plans, all his actions, he would say:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/if-each-of-us-were-to-confess-his-most-secret-desire-the-one-that/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [He who hates himself is not humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/he-who-hates-himself-is-not-humble/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Impossible to spend sleepless nights and accomplish anything: if, in my youth, my parents had not financed my insomnias, I should surely have killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/impossible-to-spend-sleepless-nights-and-accomplish-anything-if-in-my/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [One is and remains a slave as long as one is not cured of hoping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/one-is-and-remains-a-slave-as-long-as-one-is-not-cured-of-hoping/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Let us not be needlessly bitter: certain failures are sometimes fruitful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/let-us-not-be-needlessly-bitter-certain-failures-are-sometimes/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Humanity adores only those who cause it to perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/humanity-adores-only-those-who-cause-it-to-perish/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Psychoanalysis is a technique we practice at our cost; psychoanalysis degrades our risks, our dangers, our depths; it strips us of our impurities, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/psychoanalysis-is-a-technique-we-practice-at-our-cost-psychoanalysis/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [In order to have the stuff of a tyrant, a certain mental derangement is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/in-order-to-have-the-stuff-of-a-tyrant-a-certain-mental-derangement/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) [Explore all 272 Emile M. Cioran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) ## More Addict quotes > [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. 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What does this mean about me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/i-was-ashamed-my-son-is-a-drug-addict-what-does-this-mean-about-me/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I'm a complete addict of The 'X Factor,' so I can see why everyone gets so inspired. But there's a downside to celebrity: your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-quick/i-m-a-complete-addict-of-the-x-factor-so-i-can-see-why-everyone-gets/) [Diana Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-quick/) > [“I don’t fundamentally understand why people give a shit about what other people put up their noses or what other people put in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/i-don-t-fundamentally-understand-why-people-give-a-shit-about-what/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [It doesn't have the ability to think rationally this economic model. It thinks like a drug addict: 'Where can I get my next fix?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/it-doesn-t-have-the-ability-to-think-rationally-this-economic-model/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. 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Once they have it, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/addiction-is-a-decision-an-individual-wants-something-whatever-that/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) Browse all 634 Addict quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emile M. 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