We can challenge some of these norms around, well, how do we define success? How do we define what ambition is?

And I think that's where I'm inviting people to really reclaim that and to determine

what is work and what is worthy work and what is worthy of your effort. I talk about this idea

that there's a U-curve of ambition, similar to the U-curve of performance, where if your ambition

is too low, you can get into this what I call stagnant zone. If your ambition is too high

and you're driving hard all the time or you're in this unproductive sense of striving, you can get

into the severe zone. And so it really is about, well, how do I dial in my ambition to be kind of the

right level so that it is sustainable for myself. I think why people can often get

tripped up with work-life balance and that concept is that they think that, oh, I'm supposed to be

in balance all of the time. And yet, again, there's going to be intense time periods. That's a

reality of life and how our life and work work together. And so are you thinking about a broader time horizon, 12 to 18 months and kind of ascertaining,

when am I going to take those down times and when am I going to give myself those breaks so that I can keep myself sustained over time? That's Kathyonetto.

She's a consultant, facilitator, and coach who helps ambitious professionals explore how to live and work differently for more success and satisfaction.

She's also a podcast or an author of the book, Sustainable Ambition, How to Prioritize What Matters to Thrive in Life and Work. So's also a podcaster and author of the book Sustainable Ambition,

how to prioritize what matters to thrive in life and work. So you'll learn one, the major myths surrounding ambition, two, how to overcome inertia to achieve your goals, and three,

how to keep your energy up for the long term. And if you want a quick summary write-up of these

actionable takeaways, I recommend you sign up for the free Gold Nugget email newsletter over at awesome at your job.com. I'm Pete McItis. This is How to Be Awesome

at your job. Now, here's Kathy. Kathy, welcome. Hi, Pete. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to talk

about sustainable ambition. Great title. Seems like something we're into here. But could you kick us off by sharing a particularly surprising and fascinating and or a counterintuitive thing you've learned about folks and ambition from all of your consulting, coaching, facilitating years and many,

many clients. This is the thing I'm going to start with, which is often where I end,

which is to remember that we're human and that it's both natural as humans to be both ambitious

and to have goals. It's not a bad thing. We're wired to do this.

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