Ambition has gotten a bad rap of late. And, because of that, you’ve lost some of your power.
You see, somewhere along the lines, I’m guessing that a person in power persuaded you to allow your ambition to be subsumed into something that is more socially acceptable: faux humility.
They convinced you that you shouldn’t want more, that you shouldn’t ask for more, that you shouldn’t demand more.
I think that’s bunk.
Why do you want to get ahead?
What do you want to do with that power?
Do you want to make a mark, large or small, on this earth? What kind of life do you want to live?
How do you want to raise your family?
Do you want to give back?
Will an elevated position, an increased salary, and a voice of leadership help you do this?
Put simply: would having more—more income, more influence, more impact—allow you to show up better for the people you love and the cause, company, or community you hold dear?
Of course, it will.
Wanting that doesn’t make you greedy. It makes you honest. It makes you human. And when you harness that ambition and align it with your values? That’s where real contribution begins.
This week, I’m bringing you my friend Jina.
Jina Sanone had the dream job. Big brand. Big title. Big perks. She was traveling the world, optimizing pricing strategies at Delta, and helping build women’s leadership programs across the company. She was all in. Happy. Fulfilled.
Until she wasn’t.
Because underneath all the corporate wins was a whisper. A nagging tug that said, “This isn’t the only thing you’re meant to do.”
Jina didn’t ignore it. She followed it. Took a leave of absence. Launched Her Term, a nonprofit laser-focused on data-driven support to get more women elected into the right races where they could actually win. It was her calling. Her fire.
But here’s the truth: the work mattered, and it lit her up. But it didn’t pay the bills. And that mattered too.
So she did something that doesn’t get celebrated enough: she went back to Delta. Not to give up. To support her dream. To fund the fire. To build a life that holds space for both.
That’s not martyrdom. It’s not choosing between money or meaning. It’s owning the audacity to want both.
It’s Contribution.
Your contribution is how your work supports the life you actually want. And if that means cashing bigger checks, climbing the ladder, chasing the corner office—you get to want that. You get to want all of it.
But here’s the kicker: most of us don’t actually know what we want.
We know what our parents told us to want. What our bosses reward. What LinkedIn celebrates. But when was the last time you asked yourself—really asked yourself—what kind of life you’re building?
What’s your version of success? What lifestyle do you crave? What values do you want to live by—and does your work support them?
Or are you stuck in the inertia of a job that looks good on paper but feels empty in your gut?
If those questions make you pause, it’s not because you’re broken. It’s because you haven’t had the space, the tools, or the permission to answer them. Until now.
The one thing I know to be true this week is this: There’s no shame in wanting more. More freedom. More joy. More pay. More purpose. More life that feels like yours. There’s only shame in hiding your light.
If you’re tired of playing small or pretending you don’t want what you really want, take the Contribution Mini-Course. It’s one of four core modules from my full Limitless Course, and it’s just $99 this month.
You’ll get clear on what success looks like for you, and how to get your work to deliver it—with no guilt, no apologies, and no compromises.
And if you’re not sure where to start, take this quiz and find your first step.
Forward this to someone who’s done playing small.
Let’s go get what’s ours.
