--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can each define ambition and progress…" description: "\"We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/sheryl-sandberg-439_ambition_we-can-each-define-ambition-and-progress_2299009.png" --- # We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves… ![“We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests.” quote by Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/sheryl-sandberg-439_ambition_we-can-each-define-ambition-and-progress_2299009.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/sheryl-sandberg-439_ambition_we-can-each-define-ambition-and-progress_2299009.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/837/sheryl-sandberg-439_ambition_we-can-each-define-ambition-and-progress_2299009.png) > “We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests.” [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individuals should define success based on personal passions and strengths, not societal stereotypes. **In simple terms:** Define success personally. Key Takeaway Pursue passions over expectations. Themes ambition identity stereotypes empowerment Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - education choices - personal development Key Concepts self‑determination talent development inclusive culture Questions to Reflect On - What personal strengths can you leverage? - How can you challenge limiting stereotypes? A Different Perspective Stereotypes can be deeply ingrained and hard to overcome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Powerful women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-women/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Stereotype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stereotype/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/leaders-should-strive-for-authenticity-over-perfection/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Real change will come when powerful women are less of an exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/real-change-will-come-when-powerful-women-are-less-of-an-exception/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Real change will come when powerful women are less of an exception. It is easy to dislike senior women because there are so few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/real-change-will-come-when-powerful-women-are-less-of-an-exception-it/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [We have a problem with women in leadership across the board. This leadership gap - this problem of not enough women in leadership -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/we-have-a-problem-with-women-in-leadership-across-the-board-this/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [The gender stereotypes introduced in childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies. Most leadership positions are held by men, so women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/the-gender-stereotypes-introduced-in-childhood-are-reinforced/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [My goal is to work. That's the goal of most actors or performers: to work and keep working, and do the best you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ian-black/my-goal-is-to-work-that-s-the-goal-of-most-actors-or-performers-to/) [Michael Ian Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ian-black/) > [Don't set compensation as a goal. Find work you like, and the compensation will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harding-lawrence/don-t-set-compensation-as-a-goal-find-work-you-like-and-the/) Harding Lawrence > [If we fix a goal and work towards it, then we are never just passing time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-neagle/if-we-fix-a-goal-and-work-towards-it-then-we-are-never-just-passing/) [Anna Neagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-neagle/) > [Visualize your ultimate goal and then do the work to make it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-somers/visualize-your-ultimate-goal-and-then-do-the-work-to-make-it-happen/) [Suzanne Somers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-somers/) > [My ultimate goal is to work with fashion designers and do performance pieces on a runway show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/my-ultimate-goal-is-to-work-with-fashion-designers-and-do-performance/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Our goal is to work against things we have not seen that we will see in the near future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-saban/our-goal-is-to-work-against-things-we-have-not-seen-that-we-will-see/) [Nick Saban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-saban/) > [If god closes one door, he opens 10 other doors. I believe Im alive today to achieve something. Set the goal and work relentlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunima-sinha/if-god-closes-one-door-he-opens-10-other-doors-i-believe-im-alive/) [Arunima Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunima-sinha/) > [New year resolutions usually amount to nothing. Instead, set a goal and work towards it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/new-year-resolutions-usually-amount-to-nothing-instead-set-a-goal-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The whole time I've been an actor, from early in Houston, my goal has been to work - to keep doing it. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/the-whole-time-i-ve-been-an-actor-from-early-in-houston-my-goal-has/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [My goal is to work diligently to become the top philanthropist in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-guangbiao/my-goal-is-to-work-diligently-to-become-the-top-philanthropist-in-the/) [Chen Guangbiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-guangbiao/) ## More by Sheryl Sandberg > [“Still, my argument was that if she was going to work for the next 30 years, what difference does "going back" 4 years really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/still-my-argument-was-that-if-she-was-going-to-work-for-the-next-30/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [ “\[Eric Schmidt\] explained that only one criterion that mattered when picking a job- fat growth. When companies grow quickly, there are more things to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/eric-schmidt-explained-that-only-one-criterion-that-mattered-when/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Go to a playground: Little girls get called 'bossy' all the time, a word that's almost never used for boys. And that leads directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/go-to-a-playground-little-girls-get-called-bossy-all-the-time-a-word/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“One of my favorite quotes comes from author Alice Walker, who observed, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/one-of-my-favorite-quotes-comes-from-author-alice-walker-who-observed/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [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/) > [“When I wrote Lean In, some people argued that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-wrote-lean-in-some-people-argued-that-i-did-not-spend-enough/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Survivor guilt is a thief of joy—yet another secondary loss from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/survivor-guilt-is-a-thief-of-joy-yet-another-secondary-loss-from-death/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I am a bigger-picture manager because I've lived through something that's a big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-am-a-bigger-picture-manager-because-i-ve-lived-through-something/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/presenting-leadership-as-a-list-of-carefully-defined-qualities-like/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [So there's no such thing as work-life balance. There's work, and there's life, and there's no balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/so-there-s-no-such-thing-as-work-life-balance-there-s-work-and-there/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Men can comfortably claim credit for what they do as long as they don't veer into arrogance. For women, taking credit comes at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/men-can-comfortably-claim-credit-for-what-they-do-as-long-as-they-don/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“As Helen Keller put it, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/as-helen-keller-put-it-when-one-door-of-happiness-closes-another/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Forty percent of employed mothers lack sick days and vacation leave, and about 50 percent of employed mothers are unable to take time off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/forty-percent-of-employed-mothers-lack-sick-days-and-vacation-leave/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) [Explore all 557 Sheryl Sandberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## 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": "We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. 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