{"product_id":"the-cost-of-ambition-how-striving-to-be-better-than-others-makes-us-worse-hardcover","title":"The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMiroslav Volf\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e bestselling author Miroslav Volf on why striving for superiority is at odds with the Christian faith\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[A] smart take on a world obsessed with forward motion.\"--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany people believe that ambition--striving to be better than others--improves us and advances society. But what if it actually makes us worse?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Cost of Ambition\u003c\/i\u003e, world-renowned theologian and award-winning author Miroslav Volf argues that striving for superiority has negative consequences in all domains of life. Instead, we should strive for excellence. Volf explores: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e● what S ren Kierkegaard, John Milton, and the apostle Paul say about the cost of ambition\u003cbr\u003e● how we can achieve excellence rather than strive for superiority\u003cbr\u003e● how to stop being plagued by our own sense of inferiority to others\u003cbr\u003e● why Christians must retrieve a humbler way of life \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVolf also examines what the teachings of Jesus and the stories in Genesis say on the matter. Volf explains how striving to be better than others devalues our achievements, surroundings, and relationships by turning them into mere means to an empty goal. This pursuit, though widely accepted in modern life, is at odds with key Christian convictions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter exposing the toxicity of ambition, Volf uses contemporary examples to guide us toward striving for excellence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Volf has always written compellingly and convincingly as he diagnoses the human condition\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany people believe that ambition, understood as striving to be better than others, improves us as individuals and advances society. But what if the opposite is true?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Cost of Ambition\u003c\/i\u003e, world-renowned theologian and award-winning author Miroslav Volf argues that striving for superiority actually makes us worse. He unpacks the toxicity of ambition and guides us to a better goal: striving for excellence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book does not disappoint. Miroslav Volf has always written compellingly and convincingly as he diagnoses the human condition. In \u003ci\u003eThe Cost of Ambition\u003c\/i\u003e, he guides the reader through the origins of the pervasive yet misguided need to prove one's superiority and the multitude of problems that such striving creates. Simultaneously humane and scholarly, psychologically astute and theologically sound, Volf suggests that deliverance from this predicament can only come from the proper recognition of the generosity of the glorious and gifting God, ultimately exchanging the enslaving and empty striving for superiority with freedom and fullness in Christ's accomplishments for us and God's superiority in relation to us.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eRobert Emmons\u003c\/b\u003e, editor in chief of \u003ci\u003eThe Journal of Positive Psychology\u003c\/i\u003e;\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Little Book of Gratitude\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Scholarly but readable, and combining moral clarity with compassion, this book is essential on a defining temptation of our times.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Oldfield\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eFully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times\u003c\/i\u003e; host of \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSacred \u003c\/i\u003epodcast\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMiroslav Volf\u003c\/b\u003e (DrTheol, University of Tübingen) is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture in New Haven, Connecticut. He has written or edited more than two dozen books, including the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eLife Worth Living\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Public Faith\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublic Faith in Action\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eExclusion and Embrace\u003c\/i\u003e (winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and selected as among the 100 best religious books of the 20th century by \u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e). Educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, Volf regularly lectures around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 194\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.1 x 5.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 20, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51966562009389,"sku":"9781587434815","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/wvTUCXIYof9781587434815.webp?v=1775534567","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-cost-of-ambition-how-striving-to-be-better-than-others-makes-us-worse-hardcover","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}