--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have never been poor, and never known…" description: "\"You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg" --- # You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is. ![“You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg) > “You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests that true poverty is a lack of ambition, not material lack. **In simple terms:** Being poor means lacking drive. Key Takeaway Cultivate ambition regardless of wealth. Themes ambition poverty self-awareness Mood reflective critical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - financial planning Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - What drives you beyond material needs? - How can you foster ambition in comfortable circumstances? A Different Perspective Ambition can be stifled by comfort and complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambitious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) ## Related quotes > [Well is it known that ambition can creep as well as soar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/well-is-it-known-that-ambition-can-creep-as-well-as-soar/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I am an ambitious person, but I am not ambitious in the sense that I want jobs only for the sake of them... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-am-an-ambitious-person-but-i-am-not-ambitious-in-the-sense-that-i/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [I'm ambitious and I'm determined and I know where I'm going to be. It's not where I want to be, but where I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-whittle/i-m-ambitious-and-i-m-determined-and-i-know-where-i-m-going-to-be-it/) [Ricky Whittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-whittle/) > [“Professional ambition is expected of men but is optional—or worse, sometimes even a negative—for women. “She is very ambitious” is not a compliment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/professional-ambition-is-expected-of-men-but-is-optional-or-worse/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I wasn't very ambitious as a child. I'm still not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-wasn-t-very-ambitious-as-a-child-i-m-still-not/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [To be ambitious of true honor and of the real glory and perfection of our nature is the very principle and incentive of virtue;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sidney/to-be-ambitious-of-true-honor-and-of-the-real-glory-and-perfection-of/) [Philip Sidney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sidney/) > [I'm really simple and I'm extremely ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/y-lan-noel/i-m-really-simple-and-i-m-extremely-ambitious/) [Y'lan Noel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/y-lan-noel/) > [In adding up her assets, the ambitious lady calculated the worth of her beautiful body as coldly as everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-adding-up-her-assets-the-ambitious-lady-calculated-the-worth-of/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [If you're not an ambitious footballer, you're in the wrong game, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-maguire/if-you-re-not-an-ambitious-footballer-you-re-in-the-wrong-game-really/) [Harry Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-maguire/) > [I think I've always been ambitious. It just looks different on me. You know, I have friends who are actresses who go to every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-pare/i-think-i-ve-always-been-ambitious-it-just-looks-different-on-me-you/) [Jessica Pare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-pare/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 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'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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": "You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known-what-ambition-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known-what-ambition-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/043/oscar-wilde-16_ambition_you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known_1916571.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have never been poor, and never known what ambition is.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You have never been poor, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known-what-ambition-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/you-have-never-been-poor-and-never-known-what-ambition-is/#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 } } ] } ```