To All The Ambitious People

May I introduce to you: The “Ambition and Competence” Matrix

The y-axis represents one’s competence level, ranging from “Incompetent” to “Competent”. The x-axis represents one’s ambition level, ranging from “Unambitious” to “Ambitious”. Combined, these 2 axes make up the Ambition and Competence Matrix, which actually helps us understand the relationship between Ambition, Competence, and Happiness.

Let’s go through the 4 quadrants with me:

Quadrant #1: Ambitious and Competent.

I call the people here: “Driven Hustlers”.

They have big dreams, like getting into Harvard, building a school, or founding their own businesses. And they also have the “Competence” to make it.

It’s important to note that “Competence” here isn’t simply one’s merits, but rather a package of individual ability, inherited wealth (money), and social capital (network). Of course, individual competency is important, but for many big dreams, the other factors also play major roles, without which, no amount of personal merits will be enough.

The Driven Hustlers say: “I want more. And I will get more.”

Quadrant #2: Competent and Unambitious.

I call them the “Lowkey Genius”.

They are usually high school or college friends with a lot of Driven Hustlers. Very competent, good network, strong financial background, but they simply don’t see the need to be “that big of a deal”.

They’re not trying to make it on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, or any list for that matter 😂 They’re just simply happy with where they are. Actually, some of them used to be Driven Hustlers, but they got tired of hustling =))

These people are usually branded (by their parents) as “Living under potential”.

The Lowkey Geniuses know: “I can probably get more. But I’m happy with where I am.”

Quadrant #3: Incompetent and Unambitious.

I call this quadrant “Ignorance is Bliss”.

The people here live for the present (and probably the present only). The only peer pressure they will give you is the pressure to “chill more”. I have a few pals here, and whenever we hang out, I can confidently leave my brain at home. They give you good laughs.

If you’re ambitious, but all of your friends are here, I suggest you expand your network more to the ambitious side. Because you do become the people you spend the most time with.

The folks here say: “I don’t need anything more. Probably won’t get it anyway.”

Quadrant #4: Incompetent and Ambitious.

The people here are “Constantly Unhappy”.

This is probably the scariest quadrant to be in. Similar to the “Lowkey Genius”, the people here probably know a lot of Driven Hustlers. They see their friends aiming high and constantly getting there. But instead of chilling like the Lowkey Genius, they think to themselves: “Hmm, I should aim for that as well.”

But when they start trying, they slowly realize that they are not competent enough for that goal. They fail again and again and again, at everything that their Hustler friends have accomplished. This comparison makes them constantly unhappy.

While the “Lowkey Genius” is branded as “Living under potential” by society, they never feel that way. But the people here in “Constantly Unhappy” land almost ALWAYS see themselves as “Living under potential”.

Here, they say: “I want more. But I just can’t get it.”

Have you seen the pattern here?

People on the Unambitious side are always happy, whether it’s by ignorance or by choice 🤣

I’m not saying that we should all drop our ambitions. (For you Driven Hustlers reading, this is nearly impossible.) What I’m saying here is that your ability to manage your ambitions is key to Happiness.

There are 2 ways to get out of the “Constantly Unhappy” state. The first is to improve your competence. Work harder. Learn more. Network more. Competency is something you can always boost.

However, even with your improved competence, the goal you set for yourself might still be too high for you. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to become the president of the U.S. This leads to my second strategy:

The second way to get out of quadrant #4 is to simply adjust your goal. You don’t need to be the president of the U.S. to be great. You don’t need to graduate from Harvard to make an impact. You don’t need to look like me to start blogging.

Managing your own ambitions is the key to staying “realistically ambitious”.

My last secret about this matrix is:

I move around this matrix all the time. Sometimes, I feel like the most Driven Hustler out there. Other times, I feel like a potato, fearing that my dreams are too big for my ability.

I’m writing this essay, not for you to categorize yourself as a “Driven Hustler” or a “Lowkey Genius”. I’m writing this, so you can:

• Feel comfortable with being ambitious and not competent YET. Because the goal is to keep learning and improving.

• Feel comfortable with changing your goals. Because the goal is to stay “realistically ambitious”.

And lastly, I’m writing this, with the hope that you will respect other people’s level of ambition, and know that it is a fluid thing, specific to that period of their lives. We don’t know what people have been through to be where they’re at.

Ambitious or not, I hope you are happy.

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