--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever my ambition, influenced by my…" description: "\"“Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up above the everyday level of my life, so that for a moment I seemed to soar, like a child on a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg" --- # Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up… ![“Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up above the everyday level of my life, so that for a moment I seemed to soar, like a child on a swing, I always – like the child – had to come down to the public garden and face my defeat, with no flags to wave in battle and no sword I was…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg) > ““Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up above the everyday level of my life, so that for a moment I seemed to soar, like a child on a swing, I always – like the child – had to come down to the public garden and face my defeat, with no flags to wave in battle and no sword I was strong enough to unsheath.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition fueled by dreams can give a fleeting sense of soaring, but reality brings us back to ordinary life and its inevitable defeats. **In simple terms:** Dream-driven ambition feels lofty but ends in ordinary setbacks. Key Takeaway Stay grounded despite lofty dreams. Themes ambition reality humility disillusionment Mood reflective melancholy thoughtful Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career aspirations - creative projects - personal goals - public performance - handling failure Key Concepts existentialism self-awareness impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance lofty dreams with everyday responsibilities? - What signs tell you when ambition is becoming unrealistic? A Different Perspective Dreams may blind us to practical limits and lead to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Influenced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-influenced-1199382/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Raised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-raised-1199383/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Influenced Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influenced-dreams-1199385/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Raised Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raised-everyday-1199384/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [No movie influenced me more to go after my dreams than 'Flashdance.' After seeing it, I took 15 dance lessons a week. 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However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“I’m not strong enough for this,” he whispered in her ear—like he didn’t want anyone to hear that coming out of his mouth. Ever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/i-m-not-strong-enough-for-this-he-whispered-in-her-ear-like-he-didn-t/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Life will knock you down & it's tough, but you are strong enough. Get back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-will-knock-you-down-it-s-tough-but-you-are-strong-enough-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. 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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": "“Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up above the everyday level of my life, so that for a moment I seemed to soar, like a child on a swing, I always – like the child – had to come down to the public garden and face my defeat, with no flags to wave in battle and no sword I was strong enough to unsheath.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fernando Pessoa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dreams-raised-up-above-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dreams-raised-up-above-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/fernando-pessoa-177_ambition_whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dr_1706246.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whenever my ambition, influenced by my dreams, raised up above the everyday level of my life, so that for a…” — Fernando Pessoa", "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": "Fernando Pessoa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Whenever my ambition, influenced by my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dreams-raised-up-above-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/whenever-my-ambition-influenced-by-my-dreams-raised-up-above-the/#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 } } ] } ```