Ambition indicates a lack of self-confidence. When you know you can achieve something easily, you will not be ambitious; you will simply be confident about it. Your ambition indicates challenge and uncertainty, which is contrary to self-confidence.
So one who has total self-confidence cannot be ambitious, nor can a person who totally lacks confidence. For ambition to be present, you must have a small amount of confidence and total ignorance of the Self. It is nearly impossible to have total confidence without self-knowledge.
People take pride in being ambitious. The wise man will only smile at them. You can never be ambitious about something you know you can achieve effortlessly. You can only be ambitious about something that requires effort, that poses a challenge, and that you cannot be certain you will achieve.
Ambition takes away the joy of the moment. With the knowledge of the Self, there is nothing left to achieve for the entire nature of existence is mere play and display of your own consciousness. With self-knowledge nothing is challenging to you, nor do you need to make an effort. Nature is ready to fulfill your intentions even before they arise, giving you no chance to crave or desire. Nature does not allow the wise to have desires or ambition, nor does it allow the unwise to fulfill their desires or ambitions, or to discard them.
