Just finished the book Rescuing Ambition. I highly recommend every Christian to buy this book. So many times I had to stop and assess if I am having a worldly sense of ambition or a biblical view of ambition.

Here are some of my notes and lessons learned:

1. Humility, rightly understood, shouldn’t be a fabric softener on our aspirations. True humility doesn’t kill our dreams; it provides a guardrail for them ensuring that they remain on God’s road and move in the direction of his glory.

2. One way to clarify your spirituality is to clarify your ambition- Donald Whitney

3. To glorify God – we can’t make him something he already is – glorious. But we can recognize the glory that radiates from him, value it properly, and give God his due.

4. To love glory is to pursue glory. If we love the glory that comes from God, it translates into a lifelong, passionate, zealous quest – in other words, godly ambition.

5. Your pursuits – whatever they may be reveal what you prize. Alson consider that what we pursue will ultimately define us.

Review
“In Rescuing Ambition, Dave Harvey distinguishes ambition for the glory of God, which is good, from ambition for the glory of self, which is bad. But godly ambition doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so Harvey helps us see how it is intertwined with humility, contentment, faith, and above all, the gospel. Dave Harvey is both an experienced pastor and a gifted writer, so you will find this book not only profitable but also hard to put down.”
—Jerry Bridges, author, The Pursuit of Holiness

“Thomas Watson said, ‘Selfish ambition is the mother of all schisms.’ But Dave Harvey shows us a better way in Rescuing Ambition. With wit and wisdom, Dave uncovers the truth in scripture to teach how God forms a gospel-driven ambition in us for use in his mission and for his glory. I hope every leader in the church today will read Rescuing Ambition.”
—Ed Stetzer, President, LifeWay Research

“Dave Harvey thinks well, writes well, tells good stories, and cites people of substance and insight. I have long appreciated Dave’s integrity, wisdom and perspective. Were I not afraid of feeding his ambition for greatness, or my ambition to write a memorable endorsement, I would add that Rescuing Ambition is biblical, honest, witty, and sometimes amusing. I’m happy to recommend this fine book on an important and overlooked subject.”
—Randy Alcorn, author, If God is Good and Heaven

A video of Dave Harvey explaining why he wrote the book.