Wanting big things isn’t arrogant. Expecting them without the work is.

Ambition gets a bad name because people confuse it with entitlement. Wanting a large life is ordinary and healthy, and the trouble only starts when the wanting comes with an assumption that it is owed. The difference is not the size of the hope but whether you are willing to pay for it in hours.

Take one thing you want and name the price in specifics: how many mornings, how many drafts, how much learning you have not done yet. If the number makes you flinch, that is useful information. Decide this week whether you are paying it or adjusting the want.