--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Does it help if we're so strong-willed…" description: "\"Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn, ambitious, and selfish that we always overcome everything in our way no matter what?\" asked Wang-mu. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png" --- # Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn… ![“Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn, ambitious, and selfish that we always overcome everything in our way no matter what?" asked Wang-mu. "I think those are the pertinent virtues, yes," said Peter. "Then let's do it. That's us in spades.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png) > “Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn, ambitious, and selfish that we always overcome everything in our way no matter what?" asked Wang-mu. "I think those are the pertinent virtues, yes," said Peter. "Then let's do it. That's us in spades.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions whether extreme will traits like stubbornness and selfishness are sufficient to overcome any obstacle, implying that such virtues may be both empowering and potentially detrimental. **In simple terms:** Strong will can help, but may also cause problems. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with humility. Themes ambition willpower virtue selfishness Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - personal goals - conflict resolution - career advancement Key Concepts psychology ethics leadership Questions to Reflect On - Are your virtues hindering others? - When does ambition become harmful? A Different Perspective Overreliance on will can blind to collaboration and empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Overcoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcoming/) [Strong willed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-willed/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [I just do what I feel, whether it's right or wrong, and I'm very strong-willed, very stubborn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kerr/i-just-do-what-i-feel-whether-it-s-right-or-wrong-and-i-m-very-strong/) [Sam Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kerr/) > [Mum says that, since I was a tiny baby, I've had the most strong-willed and stubborn personality known to man. Although that was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/mum-says-that-since-i-was-a-tiny-baby-i-ve-had-the-most-strong-willed/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [In a way, I'm overly ambitious, selfish in a way. I think because I am so active, I think that's what keeps my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nam/in-a-way-i-m-overly-ambitious-selfish-in-a-way-i-think-because-i-am/) [Eric Nam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nam/) > [“Socialists, charity workers, carers, people who volunteer to help others; they're all - and he's quite convinced about this - they're all in reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/socialists-charity-workers-carers-people-who-volunteer-to-help-others/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“For a man filled with a great, true and unselfish love, even if it be on one side only, there open horizons and possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivo-andri/for-a-man-filled-with-a-great-true-and-unselfish-love-even-if-it-be/) [Ivo Andrić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivo-andri/) > [As you become acquainted with a character you are creating, you add parts of yourself that are pertinent to that character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/as-you-become-acquainted-with-a-character-you-are-creating-you-add/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [The class that I teach is called "The Life of a Photograph." It takes up the question, of the billion photographs that were taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-class-that-i-teach-is-called-the-life-of-a-photograph-it-takes-up/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Realism in foreign policy means careful consideration of all aspects pertinent to the issue, before taking a decision. This is the only way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/realism-in-foreign-policy-means-careful-consideration-of-all-aspects/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [It is frequently more rewarding merely to ask pertinent questions. It may get someone to go and look for an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/it-is-frequently-more-rewarding-merely-to-ask-pertinent-questions-it/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [Zen abhors repetition or imitation of any kind, for it kills. For the same reason Zen never explains, but only affirms. Life is fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/zen-abhors-repetition-or-imitation-of-any-kind-for-it-kills-for-the/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [It was from the artists and poets that the pertinent answers came, and I know that panic would have broken loose had they been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-from-the-artists-and-poets-that-the-pertinent-answers-came-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that consciousness is power. Consciousness is education and knowledge. Consciousness is becoming aware. It is the perfect vehicle for students. Consciousness-raising is pertinent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-kochiyama/remember-that-consciousness-is-power-consciousness-is-education-and/) [Yuri Kochiyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-kochiyama/) > [I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material can only give a bare chronological outline which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-very-much-dislike-writing-about-myself-or-my-work-and-when-pressed/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-very-word-secrecy-is-repugnant-in-a-free-and-open-society-and-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/it-is-important-that-miers-not-be-confirmed-unless-in-her-61st-year/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Ambitious quotes > [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 want my squad to be confident, ambitious. They have to believe in big things and we have to set targets internally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-howe/i-want-my-squad-to-be-confident-ambitious-they-have-to-believe-in-big/) [Eddie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-howe/) > [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/) > [“Getting rich is easy, staying rich is impressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-trip/getting-rich-is-easy-staying-rich-is-impressive/) [Don Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-trip/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/) Chris Kirubi > [I am ambitious to do more than what has been offered me. I want to be the best in whatever career I choose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-chopra/i-am-ambitious-to-do-more-than-what-has-been-offered-me-i-want-to-be/) [Uday Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uday-chopra/) > [There are four varieties in society — the lovers, the ambitious, observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippolyte-taine/there-are-four-varieties-in-society-the-lovers-the-ambitious/) [Hippolyte Taine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippolyte-taine/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I understood early on that I was not the best-looking girl in the room. But I knew my advantage was a hard work ethic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-understood-early-on-that-i-was-not-the-best-looking-girl-in-the/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [It is ordained that to the ambitious, who derive no satisfaction from the gifts of life and the beauty of the world, life shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/it-is-ordained-that-to-the-ambitious-who-derive-no-satisfaction-from/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [If Reagan and John Paul II were linked by anything, it was a grand, ambitious, and generous idea of Western political civilization, one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/if-reagan-and-john-paul-ii-were-linked-by-anything-it-was-a-grand/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [To talk only about national security, national defense, means to be selfish, ambitious. It is discrimination, isolation. "It is just me. What do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/to-talk-only-about-national-security-national-defense-means-to-be/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) [Browse all 1,269 Ambitious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn, ambitious, and selfish that we always overcome everything in our way no matter what?\" asked Wang-mu. \"I think those are the pertinent virtues, yes,\" said Peter. \"Then let's do it. That's us in spades.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-stubborn-ambitious-and-selfish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambitious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-stubborn-ambitious-and-selfish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfe/orson-scott-card-134_ambitious_does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-s_641646.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Does it help if we're so strong-willed, stubborn, ambitious, and selfish that we always overcome everything…” — Orson Scott Card", "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": "Orson Scott Card", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Does it help if we're so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-stubborn-ambitious-and-selfish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/does-it-help-if-we-re-so-strong-willed-stubborn-ambitious-and-selfish/#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 } } ] } ```