The Secrets of Ambition

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Our article about how the will to succeed is affected by genes, gender, privilege and persistence sparked a lively debate among readers who appreciated the broad diversity of the people we profiled and readers who rejected wealth and fame as the most important indicators of a fulfilled life

You provided a fascinating analysis of why and how some of us have that inner fire of ambition while others do not [Feb. 13]. Your article may drive some readers to ask, Am I or can I be successful in my career? Sometimes we need a push to leave what we are doing and find something that we can be more successful at. But a focus on individual ambition and financial success is not healthy. If we ignore civility and empathy, we only exacerbate social decay. Our role models should be those whose ambition and success brought about the betterment of the whole society, not just themselves.
Robert Pitts, Jr.
San Ramon, California, U.S.

The premise that ambition is the "Need to grab an ever bigger piece of the resource pie before someone else gets it" confuses ambition with greed and cut-throat competitiveness. Nature may be a zero-sum game, but civilization is not. Ambitious people don't just grab a bigger piece of the pie; they also make the pie bigger so that there's more to go around. Ambitious people brought us the printing press, personal computer, medical advances and agricultural efficiencies undreamed of 100 years ago.
Mary Jacobs
Dallas

Sometimes what we call ambition is simply talent so great it cannot contain itself. Mozart, Einstein, Paul McCartney and Bill Gates come to mind. But in other cases ambition is just greed. Many of the famous folk in your story fit the latter category.
Ken Taub
St. James, New York

Your article was full of scientists' research and perspectives, but your list of successful people didn't include any scientists. They are equally ambitious, and they work hard because they are in a highly competitive field. They, too, are passionate about what they do. Any feature on excellence and success should highlight our scientists, architects and engineers.
Timothy C. Marzullo
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.

Your cover line on "What separates life's go-getters from its also-rans" was insulting to most of humanity. Look at any troubled company or organization, and you'll find an excess of bumbling go-getters, who only make it harder for the selfless also-rans who really keep things going. Just remember the people who have quietly encouraged and aided your growth (teachers, volunteers, relatives), and ask yourself in which camp each resides.
Ernie Henninger
Harrodsburg, Kentucky, U.S.

Congratulations on your excellent article on the roots and manifestations of ambition in our society. I was bothered, though, by the reverence for material achievement as the measure of a life well lived. What about the pursuit of success in ways that do not result in money or fame? It is wrong to glorify the achievements of those who have shoved their way to the top for the sole purpose of attaining personal riches and renown.
Caitlin Maloney
Glencoe, Illinois, U.S.

TIME revealingly separated the myths from the facts in examining success. Your report showed that ambitious people are limited not by birthplace or skin color but only by the size of their dreams. Your examples of success were men and women from different backgrounds and races. Mediocrity may not be excusable after all.
Chijindu Nworgu
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Free-Speech Lessons
Re "A right to offend?" [Feb. 13], on the controversy over the Danish newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad: As a liberal Muslim practicing medicine in Britain, I am very much integrated into the Western world. Still, I know that the Prophet is so close to every Muslim's heart that you could probably not hurt Muslims as much by caricaturing God. The Muslim world has unfortunately been hijacked by its real enemies, the Islamic terrorists. While moderate Muslims are trying to find their voice and salvage their religion, the Western media help the radicals by making fun of everything that's precious to a common Muslim. Insults have a way of hurting, even in a modern, secular world.
Mir Shovkat Ahmad
Leeds, England

For centuries, cartoons have depicted negative perspectives of religion. Cartoons have violated and attacked every basic Western viewpoint. Why then should other religious icons be spared? Muslims must realize they are living on this planet with many other people for whom free comment and opinion are important. Clearly, the Muslim community needs to cultivate a better sense of humor.
Peter Blum
Johannesburg

As a member of a modern, moderate, educated and liberal sector of society, I have learned to respect other people's rights and feelings. And as a Muslim, I was not only hurt but also surprised and disgusted by the cartoons of Muhammad. When the world is on the brink of dividing into two deadly blocs, the Muslims and the West, such cartoons only serve as a catalyst to widen the gap. Even moderate Muslims who are against terrorism can't tolerate any mocking of the Holy Prophet, no matter how the joke is intended.
Komal Mehreen
Karachi

Muslims may object to the sugges-tion that they are berserk bombers, but their recent reaction to the Danish cartoons would seem to prove the point.
Steve Geller
Berkeley, California, U.S.

Muslims around the world were rightly disturbed by the cartoons of Muhammad. In the name of free speech, Westerners have been insulting our religion for too long. But our reaction should comply with the teachings of the Koran. We should follow the noble ways of Muhammad instead of engaging in violent protest.
Jalal Ud Din
Lahore

As an atheist, I find it astonishing and almost laughable that a cartoon can cause so much offense. We need to educate ourselves and enjoy life without the blind faith of religion. And as for the cartoon? Really, go read something else if it offends you.
Chris Howard
London

There will be more vitriol hurled, and the last has yet to be heard about the Muhammad cartoons. Although the Western media believe that freedom of expression is a right, no rights are lost when one respects another's sensitivities. The issue is not the behavior of Islamic fanatics but our insistence on seeing the world the way we want to, not as others see it.
Manuel Arboleda
Manila, the Philippines

I have had many conversations with Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims about the cartoons. The issue of freedom of speech is not well understood by them. But the reasoning behind their outrage does not lack merit. Westerners can claim that we are totally free to print or write anything we wish. That people are offended is assumed to be less important than the right to express oneself in a free society. But am I free to print a pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic article in Germany? Of course not.
Ronald Monsen
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. See what damage the Danish indiscretion has caused? We in South Africa have come to appreciate that other religions and cultures should be respected. We have the impression that white Europeans are unable to appreciate fundamental differences between peoples. Consequently, harmful remarks arise from ignorance.
Algernon Loxton
Cape Town

The furor over the offensive cartoons originating from Denmark cannot be said to be unexpected. The caricatures are without a doubt condemnable and indeed tasteless, to say the least. For once, the West — especially Europe — is confronted with the need to re-examine its self-absorbed democratic culture, one that doesn't give a hoot about the sensibilities of others.
Sunny Esho
Innsbruck, Austria

Islamic leaders have a great deal of freedom. They are free to destroy Buddhist shrines in Afghanistan without a word of protest from Muslim nations. They are free to deny non-Muslims the opportunity to worship freely, as in Saudi Arabia. They are free to deny the Holocaust and vilify the Jewish religion. Yet publish a few cartoons, and the Muslim world is aflame. Perhaps Islamic leaders will now acknowledge that their actions over many years have been deeply offensive to other religions and take steps toward a more balanced and sensitive approach.
Michael Renan
Cape Town

China's Caged Birds
"Google under the gun" [Feb. 13] reported that the Web giant launched a Chinese version, Google.cn, that is censored to comply with Chinese government regulations. Your story suggested that the Chinese aren't aware of what they don't have access to. But the people of China are like birds that know they are caged and realize they may never get a chance to fly free. Google's willingness to censor Internet searches should not be seen as just "a little ethical dustup." China's citizens want change, but the Chinese government controls society by controlling information.
Zhihua Hu
New York City

Steelmaker and World Shaker
Why are Europeans so upset over Mittal Steel's bid to merge with Arcelor [Feb. 13]? Where I come from, Western companies have gobbled up local firms — and entire industries, for that matter — and that's supposed to be just fine. It's disturbing to see that when someone from the developing world tries to set foot in the West, the move is always met with convoluted and unfounded criticism. The West has got to recognize that globalization, formerly a one-way street, now carries heavy traffic from the East. I guess that is what laissez-faire is all about. The West is responsible for creating the global business climate that allows tycoons like Mittal to put forward such takeover bids. I just hope that the First World is not about to backpedal in light of the recent growth and competitiveness of its Asian counterparts.
Kris J. Lee
Quezon City, the Philippines

Although I hold no brief for Mittal, the tone of the Europeans in this whole affair is decidedly racist. Let us not forget that "new" India has a civilization several centuries older than "old" Europe's. A little competition seems to bring out the worst in some people!
Vandana Joshi
Accra, Ghana

You Can't Go Home Again
Re "Why do so many of India's stars live abroad?" [Feb. 13]: I applaud the essay by Vir Sanghvi, editorial director of the Hindustan Times, in which he asks why Indians are more successful outside India than at home. Alas, a similar problem plagues Nigeria. Those born in the 1970s who left to study in Britain and the U.S. now want to return home and apply the skills and business practices learned in the West. But their enthusiasm is met with scorn, suspicion and envy. I wonder whether Nigerians feel betrayed or fear the Western work ethic. Like the Indians, we are success stories in our adopted homes but not in the land of our birth. They say a prophet is never honored in his homeland, but they also say charity must begin at home.
Briggy Chukwumah
Berkshire, England

Perishable Good
I agree with Joe Klein's column "Democracy, the morning after" [Feb. 6], which lashed out at President George W. Bush's "love affair with democracy" and its unintended consequences. Democracy, whether American or God's gift, can't be exported like a product; it requires preconditions. During the cold war, the U.S. created and maintained many ruthless and undemocratic regimes that were eventually overthrown by their citizens. During my graduate work in the U.S. 30 years ago, I read in one of the prescribed political-science texts that the U.S. had no formal foreign policy. It is the same today. But by now the U.S., including President Bush, should better understand the problem in promoting democracy in places where it has no history.
Valentine N. Anthony
Baguio City, the Philippines