Ambition Addiction

How to Go Slow, Give Thanks, and Discover Joy Within

by Benjamin Shalva

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Pub Date Nov 15 2016 | Archive Date Nov 29 2016

Grand Harbor Press

Nonfiction (Adult) | Self-Help

Description

Ambition is a blessing. It is a key motivator driving people to achieve their hopes and dreams. But for many, accomplishment is never enough. In a culture obsessed with fame and celebrity, the burning desire for acclaim, conquest, and domination can be overwhelming—to the detriment of one’s personal life. This is ambition addiction: the all-encompassing yearning for success at any cost.

Self-described ambition addict Benjamin Shalva (Spiritual Cross-Training) has written an insightful and illuminating book for anyone who wants to control that destructive strain of ambition and live with integrity. He identifies the signs and symptoms of ambition addiction and profiles iconic achievers to help readers identify unhealthy motivations. Then he reveals the five steps to living a fulfilling life of healthy, productive ambition in which grand but elusive fantasies give way to the true happiness of the here and now.

Ambition is a blessing. It is a key motivator driving people to achieve their hopes and dreams. But for many, accomplishment is never enough. In a culture obsessed with fame and celebrity, the...

A Note From the Publisher

Benjamin Shalva is the author of Spiritual Cross-Training and has been published in the Washington Post, Elephant Journal, and Spirituality & Health magazine. A rabbi, writer, meditation teacher, and yoga instructor, Shalva leads spiritual seminars and workshops around the world. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City and his yoga-teacher certification from the Yogic Physical Culture Academy in Los Cabos, Mexico. Shalva serves on the faculty at the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington and the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC, and leads musical prayer services for Adas Israel Congregation and Bet Mishpachah in Washington, DC. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Shalva lives in Reston, Virginia, with his wife and children.

Advance Praise

“There’s the life you and I think we want. That’s a sickness, really, and one that Ambition Addiction diagnoses thoroughly yet entertainingly. Then there’s another life, a real, genuine, truly joyful life of service that you and I can lead. It’s right here, right now—all it takes is the knowledge and presence of mind to face some very real facts. Shalva's book is bracing medicine for those of us caught up in the stress and hunger and busyness of this fast, fast world.” —Waylon Lewis, founder of Elephant Journal

“In Ambition Addiction, Benjamin Shalva has written a simple, practical, and often profound guide for all of us struggling to check the oversized fantasies prowling around our heads and re-engage with the real life passing us by below. It's honest, humorous, sincere, and, most of all a wonderful tool for self-reflection.” —Benjamin Lorr, author of Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga

“This is a well-written, hard hitting book that will be invaluable for many people. Prescribed reading for those in the fast lane.” —Rick Jarow, author of Creating the Work You Love and Alchemy of Abundance

“Honest, funny, insightful, and full of integrity, Benjamin Shalva is a much-needed voice in today's world.” —Chris Grosso, author of Indie Spiritualist and Everything Mind