Describe an ambition you have not yet achieved.
You should say:
- what ambition it is
- why you haven’t achieved it yet
- what you did or did not do to achieve it
and explain how you plan to achieve it.
[Instruction: You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]
Sample Answer 1
Growing up as a child, I held many ambitions in my heart. Of course, most of my ambitions weren’t realistic then, except for a few. Today, I would like to talk about one of those few ambitions which, I thought, was quite achievable, yet I didn’t achieve it to this date.
Well, I wanted to hold a public office, like being a city mayor or becoming a member of parliament. I am not sure how many people would even consider holding a public office as some “ambition,” but it surely was (and still is) one to me. By the way, I started to hide this secret ambition in my heart when I started attending primary school. This primary school was actually established by a very respected member of parliament of my country back then, who also happened to hail from my area.
So, anyway, to achieve this ambition of mine, I became a young member of a major political party in my country when I started high school. Then I also started to learn about the political manifesto of my political organization. At one point, I started to get even some invitations from the local leaders of my political party to attend their meetings occasionally. But, then I realized being a political activist or leader was a rather cumbersome and time-consuming task. I didn’t have that kind of time or support (especially from my family) since they wanted me to focus on my studies first.
But, now, I don’t really have to worry about my study anymore since I am done with them. All I need to do now to achieve this ambition is to keep earning enough money, and networking with more and more people to make myself familiar with them to garner their support. Finally, I also need to get involved with more and more social welfare activities so that the people in my area can trust me with their votes.
Sample Answer 2
I believe that having ambitions and goals keeps us moving forward in life. Of course, I also think that it is not always easy to achieve those ambitions. Today, I would like to discuss one such ambition of mine – the ambition to start my interior design firm – which I still haven’t achieved. But I am quite positive that I will keep trying to achieve it because that’s actually my career dream in the long run.
Now, being an interior designer is a great success, if you actually think of it, since it requires a lot of hard work and effort to succeed in this particular career field. After all, I am currently working as a successful Junior Interior Designer and immensely enjoying it so far. But, having a steady job at a successful company and starting your own company are two completely different things, since starting a company requires a great deal of practical work experience in the relevant field and a thorough understanding of the industry. At least, that’s what one of my senior co-workers has told me.
So, I guess that I will have to wait at least a few more years before I can actually start my company, even though, I have already contacted some start-up businesses to help me understand the nitty-gritty of starting a company, as well as some banks to help me with my finances. Besides, I have also requested my senior managers to assign me some additional tasks to familiarize myself with the trends and technologies of this dynamic industry.
So, again, I guess that I am on the right track regarding achieving my goal in the next few years. But, before that can happen, I will first need to rent a small space where I can experiment with some of my interior design ideas. Besides, I also need to visit some large real estate firms in my city who would be interested in some of my creative design ideas and schemes for their offices, shops, flats, and apartments.