I very much agree with this blog post but would reframe it a bit. I think ambition, like most things in life, is zero-sum and requires trade-offs. Before kids,

I very much agree with this blog post but would reframe it a bit. I think ambition, like most things in life, is zero-sum and requires trade-offs. Before kids, all of your ambition could go into your professional life, but what happens when you become a parent and have parental ambitions? To have a life that will feel successful to you, you need to have your ambitions aligned with what really matters to you. Whether that is being a great parent, having great community, building a great company, creating amazing works of art, etc. There isn't necessarily one "right" balance, but there are certainly many examples of people who went all in on one thing (Einstein, Steve Jobs, etc) to the detriment of anything else, even though they brought children into this world. It doesn't necessarily mean they were wrong, but they were probably crap fathers to have.