--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man without ambition is dead. A man…" description: "\"A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/pearl-bailey-16039_alive_a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-a-man-wit_846883.jpg" --- # A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no… ![“A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive.” quote by Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/pearl-bailey-16039_alive_a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-a-man-wit_846883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/pearl-bailey-16039_alive_a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-a-man-wit_846883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec2/pearl-bailey-16039_alive_a-man-without-ambition-is-dead-a-man-wit_846883.jpg) > “A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive.” [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition without love is hollow; love without ambition lacks purpose; together they give life meaning. **In simple terms:** Ambition and love together give life meaning. Key Takeaway Cultivate both ambition and love. Themes purpose love ambition Mood reflective motivational Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - relationships - community service Key Concepts human fulfillment balance Questions to Reflect On - Which is more important to you? - How can you integrate love into your goals? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on ambition can neglect relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambition Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-dead-706322/) [Ambition Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition-love-706323/) [Dead man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-man/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Man Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-ambition-485646/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Helen: You've got talent and ambition. Don: Talent? Ambition? That's dead long ago. That's drowned. That's drifting around with a bloated belly on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/helen-you-ve-got-talent-and-ambition-don-talent-ambition-that-s-dead/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [Ambition is a Dead Sea fruit, and the greatest peril to the soul is that one is likely to get precisely what he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/ambition-is-a-dead-sea-fruit-and-the-greatest-peril-to-the-soul-is/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [“He realized all at once that ambition and love might not make good bedfellows, that a choice between them might be necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-shellabarger/he-realized-all-at-once-that-ambition-and-love-might-not-make-good/) [Samuel Shellabarger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-shellabarger/) > [When I cry, I carry you in my tears. When I sleep, I carry you in my dreams. My ambition is to love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-cry-i-carry-you-in-my-tears-when-i-sleep-i-carry-you-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing becomes some women more than the prick of ambition. Love, on the contrary, may make them very dull.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/nothing-becomes-some-women-more-than-the-prick-of-ambition-love-on/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Love often leads on to ambition, but seldom does one return from ambition to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/love-often-leads-on-to-ambition-but-seldom-does-one-return-from/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [There is an efficiency inspired by love which goes far beyond and is much greater than the efficiency of ambition; and without love, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/there-is-an-efficiency-inspired-by-love-which-goes-far-beyond-and-is/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“I have met your sister, and I have met Mehmed. They love themselves and their ambition above all else. They love what feeds their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/i-have-met-your-sister-and-i-have-met-mehmed-they-love-themselves-and/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Your real being only flowers with unconditional love. Ambition is against love. Anything that is against love is against you and your real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/your-real-being-only-flowers-with-unconditional-love-ambition-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [We often pass from love to ambition, but we hardly ever return from ambition to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/we-often-pass-from-love-to-ambition-but-we-hardly-ever-return-from/) [Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Ambition and love are the wings of great actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/ambition-and-love-are-the-wings-of-great-actions/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Love should be your top priority, primary objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of your life; it’s the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/love-should-be-your-top-priority-primary-objective-and-greatest/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [In ambition, as in love, the successful can afford to be indulgent toward their rivals. The prize our own, it is graceful to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/in-ambition-as-in-love-the-successful-can-afford-to-be-indulgent/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [The incentive to ambition is the love of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-incentive-to-ambition-is-the-love-of-power/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Travel is as much a passion as ambition or love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/travel-is-as-much-a-passion-as-ambition-or-love/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) ## More by Pearl Bailey > [The deed of love is stronger than words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/the-deed-of-love-is-stronger-than-words/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [There is a way to look at the past. Don't hide from it. It will not catch you if you don't repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/there-is-a-way-to-look-at-the-past-don-t-hide-from-it-it-will-not/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [How can you give a man a room in a house and not let him come through the front door?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/how-can-you-give-a-man-a-room-in-a-house-and-not-let-him-come-through/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [“What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/what-the-world-really-needs-is-more-love-and-less-paperwork/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [People see God every day, they just don't recognize him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/people-see-god-every-day-they-just-don-t-recognize-him/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [I discuss humanity and not races.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/i-discuss-humanity-and-not-races/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [I see their souls, and I hold them in my hands, and because I love them they weigh nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/i-see-their-souls-and-i-hold-them-in-my-hands-and-because-i-love-them/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [Never, never rest contented with any circle of ideas, but always be certain that a wider one is still possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/never-never-rest-contented-with-any-circle-of-ideas-but-always-be/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [We look into mirrors but we only see the effects of our times on us - not our effects on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/we-look-into-mirrors-but-we-only-see-the-effects-of-our-times-on-us/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [You can taste a word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/you-can-taste-a-word/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [You cannot belong to anyone else, until you belong to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/you-cannot-belong-to-anyone-else-until-you-belong-to-yourself/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [I hate labels, and I wear no labels. When a man has to put something around his neck and say I am, he isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/i-hate-labels-and-i-wear-no-labels-when-a-man-has-to-put-something/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [Everybody wants to do something to help, but nobody wants to be first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/everybody-wants-to-do-something-to-help-but-nobody-wants-to-be-first/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [“People see God every day; they just don't always recognize Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/people-see-god-every-day-they-just-don-t-always-recognize-him/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) > [I tell stories to music and, thank God, in tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-bailey/i-tell-stories-to-music-and-thank-god-in-tune/) [Pearl Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) [Explore all 41 Pearl Bailey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-bailey/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [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/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. 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