Ambition.

Today's Marketing Cookie is all about ambition.

It was once said that ambition without a dream is like a car with no gas—you're not going anywhere. While that is undoubtedly true, I prefer what Elvis said, "Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine." If you want to experience great achievements in your career and your life, you must first have a big dream fueled by ambition. What's your big dream? When someone writes a biography about your life, what great achievement will they point to, saying, "This person lived a purposeful, ambitious life and worked every day to realize their dream"?

When I joined the AMA six years ago, I had just started a new company and was basically unknown. As small as Boston may be, it felt like a great big world and I didn't really know anyone. I woke up one day and decided that my dream was to make my name synonymous with marketing in Boston.

At that time, the Boston Chapter of the AMA had been overshadowed by dozens of other associations and needed to increase its relevance and awareness. By working to raise awareness for the AMA in Boston, I reached out to as many marketers as I could find in the area and connected with them. I also tried to connect the marketers I found with one another by bringing them to our AMA events and social networking site. As a result, our membership grew to the highest levels in history, and my personal network grew well beyond what I ever could have imagined.

I've been invited by the current leadership to continue serving on the board for the Boston Chapter of the AMA, which is a terrific honor, and I look forward to increasing the awareness and relevance of the association in the days ahead. I've also just been elected to the International Board of Directors of the AMA, headquartered in Chicago, where I will have the opportunity to increase awareness and relevance for the association on a global scale. My appointment goes well beyond the big dream I started six years ago, and I stand amazed by what ambition and purpose can accomplish.

You have big dreams too! Are you willing to fuel your dream with ambition the size of a V8 engine? If you are willing to let your ambition take over, I can promise you that "Ambition is the incentive that makes purpose great and achievement greater."