Timothee Chalamet on Ambition
Why You Shouldn't Hide from Your Goals
I’ll admit it. I was a hater. Maybe it was some deeply nested jealousy of his handsomeness. Maybe it was Kylie. We’ll never truly know. But I come to you today to express my sincerest apologies. In the words of Christ Stapleton, Baby, IIIIIII was wrong.
What sparked this transformation, you ask?
A few days ago, Mr. Chalamet won the SAG award for Outstanding Lead Actor. And in his acceptance speech, he spoke words I haven’t heard in quite some time. Forgoing all false humility, Mr. Chalamet decided to express his shameless ambitions to be one of the greats. To join the ranks of Viola Davis and Robert De Niro. For the arts, it was an exceedingly rare display of authenticity.
Why did this move me?
I’ve come to loathe the false humility associated with our modern culture. Ambition has been associated with arrogance and destruction, leading to a crippling of our spirits. We’re embarrassed of our pursuits. Values like chillin and nonchalance have permeated the zeitgeist, where effort and wild goals are frowned upon.
I have already seen the response from journalists denigrating Mr. Chalamet’s speech, calling him egotistical for espousing his aims. But Mr. Chalamet’s success positions him above you, so he is supposed to stay humble and fear offending those less fortunate. But you know what? Every actor is thinking it. And for one to finally say it is refreshing.
But why the negative reaction? How has our culture come to hate ambition? Why do we fear it in ourselves?
Insecurity and Fear.
Because when we see effort and success in others, it reminds us of our own inadequacies.
Because when we express our goals, we specify our conditions for failure. If you have clear aims, you have clear criteria for losing. Most would rather not play the game than risk losing. But for the few who chase that ambition, who strive tenaciously for lofty goals, there is a lesson from Mr. Chalamet.
Do not shy away from your ambition. Let the insecure, the lazy, the talentless talk their shit. They’ll call him arrogant, they’ll make fun of him, but they all want to be him.
Keep striving.