Every goal in life is achieved through ambition, fueled by determination, desire and hard work. Ambition can be a driving force towards success or into an abyss of failure, the path an individual chooses determines the end. Remember that any goal needs desire to be achieved, a desire that tends to do good or a greedy desire that is selfish. Even the actions that contribute to our “hard work” must be morally and ethically right to enjoy sweet success. However, when desire and determination are stronger than conscience, many tend to fail and often not achieve what they strived for, leaving them emotionally or even physically dead. The inner consequence of ambition is clearly stated by Napoleon, who quotes “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those who are gifted with it can perform very good or very bad actions. It all depends on the principals who direct them." The undesirable consequences of ambition can be observed in the lives of the protagonists of "The Great Gatsby and Macbeth". This describes the direction in which the ambition is driven could change the end result, it is simply based on the individual themselves rather than the dream they are trying to achieve. Therefore, the strong drive of ambition helps the seeker to achieve his goal, but greedy desires and wrong paths taken ultimately lead to downfall. The origin of ambitions and desires tells us more about the reason behind the goal that would play a role in how the goal is achieved and how strong the desire is. Shakespeare's Macbeth's desire to be powerful is rekindled by Lady Macbeth when he appears to be more or less uninterested in hearing the witches' prophecies. Macbeth quotes in fear “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; My thought, whose [...... half the paper ...... cuts the pages” (Fitzgerald 46). This shows that Gatsby's life was just to please his long lost love, Daisy, to bring her back to him. What Gatsby doesn't realize is that she is long gone, happily married with a daughter. Gatsby's dream was no longer destined to come true. Nick says, “Little did he know that his dream, life with Daisy was already behind him” (Fitzgerald 171). “the American myth of belonging through wealth” (Giltrow, Janet and David Stouck) Gatsby also believed in the American myth, he tried to realize his dream with a mask of wealth on. Both Macbeth and Gatsby sought dreams beyond their capabilities, which only resulted in more greed and lustful desire to get what they wanted rather than real hard work with determination. Their lawless actions and greedy desires led to self-destruction, as sin leads to death. death.