The ultimate measure of ambition of any sort is what do you actually end up doing. What are you doing with your life? Well, whatever the answer to that, that's what your ambition and skill are up to.

It takes a LOT of drive to succeed as a rock star, or any other highly competitive profession like that. I lived in Hollywood for 10 years, and the number of wannabe actors, musicians, writers, etc., is staggering. Some of them are really quite skilled, most aren't. But the vast majority of even the skilled ones never make it to "star" status, largely because to make that level, you have to define your whole life around that career with a fanatic's intensity. And even that is no guarantee, it's just the starting point for any slight chance of making it.

I've seen successes, too, and that was the defining thing about them: Fanatical intensity and drive on the subject.

It's an interesting thing to observe. That's for sure.