“Do not think about anything; let all ambition drop. Let what arises settle by itself, like patterns in water” – Naropa, one of the great Buddhist teachers.

Ambition clouds ‘true service’ in freedom based living

You cannot come from a place of true commitment, of true service to others when you come from a place of should.

Should is where ambition lives.

Clarity comes from spontaneity and natural expansion.

It is from this place that you are able to gain that ah-ha guiding what needs to be done next in order to provide greater service to your clients.

When you are free from ambition you see what is most useful and needed to help your clients move forwards in their goals, and so you are able to truly serve from a place of highest intention and result.

Is ambition a dirty word, then?

That depends.

We’re not talking about the helpful type of ambition here, the one that drives you to be more helpful, to step further into what you can offer others and the contribution you want to make out in the world, as well as the life you want to create for yourself (let’s be honest with ourselves here, we’re not selfless beings, much as we may want to be, we’re not there yet…working on it…). We’re talking about the ambition that can so easily cloud why you started your business in the first place – to make a difference, to be of service, to create work that is heart-centered and in alignment with your values and the person you want to be.

And look, this so easily happens to all of us. You get caught up in growing your business, in crossing new desires off your list, upgrading your wardrobe, your home furnishings, your hotel choices, that along the way you lose sight – to a greater or lesser extent – of why you’re raising your prices/creating new programs for reasons other than pure ‘business expansion’.

The major downside to acting from a place of ambition? This is what can get you, a sensitive, well-meaning, helpful soul all in a tizzy about exactly what your next steps are, what you actually want, does this actually feel good, or are you actually feeling pressured and somewhat lost because you find out your decisions are based on what you thought the expected next step/everyone else is doing it and seems to have great success with it, is?

How to get back into that freedom based business

So if you feel that in the excitement of business growth and more income, that the balance tipped to a place where you’re losing sight of why you started all this in the first place and all this talk of money and business growth is starting to feel heavy and making you want to run away…take a step back. Close  your eyes, take a deep breath, let go of ambition and ask yourself ‘what do I really want to do right now?’.

Phew, feels better, right?

Your thoughts on ambition – how do you find that balance.