#77- 18 Words for Motivation & Ambition

In this episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast, you’ll learn 18 real-life phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang expressions that Americans to talk about starting over, leaving the past behind, and turning life around.

Through a powerful story and clear examples, you’ll hear natural English in context and learn how to use expressions like light a fire under someone, to be self-made, to be driven and more! 

This episode is perfect for English learners who want to sound more natural, fluent, and confident.

You’ll hear these expressions used naturally in context and then broken down clearly, so you can start using them confidently in your own conversations.

 Don’t forget to download the episode study guide! It includes:

• All 18 vocabulary words with clear definitions
• Example sentences
• The full story from the episode
• Practice activities to help you remember and actually use the language
  
  

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If you want to sound more natural, understand American conversations better, and talk about the future with confidence—even when it’s complicated—this episode is for you.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] On this episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 18 phrasal verbs, slang verbs, and idioms, all about motivation and ambition. You'll be learning vocabulary like make a name for yourself, have your eye on the prize, light a fire under someone, grinding, and more.
 Let's get to it.

Hey there. Welcome to The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
 Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.

Hey, hey, hey. Welcome to the podcast. Greetings from a very [00:01:00] cold and very snowy New York City. Winter here in the USA has just been crazy, as you've heard me talk about before. This year, it has been super cold, super snowy. New York City weather, honestly, is just so crazy and unpredictable.

The worst part of New York City weather is the extremes. This past summer was so hot that they changed the classification of New York to a subtropical climate. It was just so hot. We had heat waves here and the humidity. It was just really bad.

Now we've had sub-zero temperatures, meaning below zero Fahrenheit, and now we have, like, an arctic climate where, for the month of January, it has consistently been colder than Alaska. That is [00:02:00] crazy. But, you know, it's February now, and hopefully things will be getting better within the next month as we prepare for the arrival of spring.

As you can probably hear, my sickness is gone. My cold is gone. Whatever virus that I had is gone, and so my voice is okay again. Thankfully, I no longer sound congested.

So let's get to this episode. This episode is all about motivation and ambition, and this is a really important topic, not just for your English, but for understanding how life and communication work in the United States.

First, let's talk about the words motivation and ambition and what they mean in English. You might know, but let's just make sure you have a complete [00:03:00] understanding of how they're similar, how they're different. Motivation is the reason, or the inner drive, we say, that makes you take action. Motivation is what pushes you forward. It pushes you to start something. It pushes you to continue when things get hard, and it pushes you to keep moving forward, even when you feel tired, you feel discouraged, you feel unsure.

Motivation can come from the inside, like personal goals or values, or it could come from the outside, like having a deadline at work or getting a reward for something, or even expectations of other people. So that's motivation. It's typically the reason why you continue to do something.

Ambition is more the [00:04:00] desire. Ambition is a strong desire to achieve something bigger and better. This is related to long-term goals, things like career success, personal growth, your social situation. It's about where you want to go in the future and how high you are aiming. Ambition is more about your direction, your vision, while motivation is about the energy and effort that help you to get there.

All right, so now let's take a look at why motivation and ambition is such a popular topic in the USA. If you've ever lived in the US, if you've ever worked with Americans, or watched American media or listened to American media, you've probably noticed something. People talk a lot about goals, progress, [00:05:00] success, self-improvement. There's a really strong belief here that you are supposed to want more. You're supposed to work toward something better, something more, keep moving forward. Whether it's in your career, your education, your personal life, even your hobbies, motivation and ambition are deeply, deeply connected to American culture.

In the United States, it's really common when we are talking to people to ask questions like, oh, what's next for you? What are some goals that you have for 2026? What are you working toward? These questions aren't meant to be what we call intrusive or nosy. They're very, very cultural.

Questions like these [00:06:00] reflect the idea that you are still writing your story and that things like effort and growth really matter. Americans really admire people who are self-motivated, hardworking, focused; people who don't wait for permission, they don't wait to be asked, but instead they take initiative and they create opportunities for themselves.

You see this everywhere, and the opposite is that people who don't want more or want to be better or want to grow, they're seen as being very lazy. So lacking or not having ambition is seen as very, very bad in American culture. In the workplace, you'll see a lot of evidence of this. People are encouraged to speak up, they're encouraged to take responsibility, show leadership, even before you become a manager, and this is very much valued. And yes, this [00:07:00] probably exists in most countries, but you see it in schools where students are told to challenge themselves, to participate, to think about their future careers from when they're in kindergarten.

You see it in social media, where people share their routines, their goals, before and after stories, and their success journeys, and you definitely hear it in the language.

A little bit about school. So it's very interesting. We have a separate grade for participation in American schools. So you could be the smartest student in the whole school, but if you don't participate in class, if you don't ask questions, if you don't speak, it's bad. So I was very surprised to learn that this is not the case in every country.

Many times, I have students in my classroom, and they say, Gabby, in my country, we are not encouraged to speak in [00:08:00] class. We just have to listen to the teacher and do what we're told. And this is so interesting to me, because in American schools, if you are quiet, that is a bad thing. Teachers want you to ask questions, to think critically, to debate in class with your classmates or your teachers.

So if you are a very shy student, oftentimes in American schools, you struggle more than students who are outspoken, students who love to communicate, love to ask questions. And the idea of a quiet classroom is very, very surprising.

So I always have to encourage students from specific cultures, hey, you have to participate in class. It's part of your grade. So it's very, very interesting. Here, you have to show motivation and ambition in every aspect of your life.

You [00:09:00] definitely, definitely hear it in the language. In American English, it's all about motivation and ambition. American English is full of expressions that talk about effort, focus, determination, progress. People don't just say, oh, I have a job. Instead, people talk about their career, building a career. They might say, oh, I'm an actor, even though they work as a waitress or a waiter.

People don't just say, oh, I'm tired. They'll say I'm working towards something bigger, so I'm up until midnight every night studying. Even failure here is often talked about as a step on the path to success. Failure is a very common topic here, and we are not shy about it. We openly talk a lot about failure here because many people view failure as just room to [00:10:00] improve, room to get better, and to push yourself a little bit harder.

Sometimes these types of expressions are a little bit tricky for English learners. So you might understand the grammar, you might know the literal meaning of the words, but you don't understand the cultural mindset behind the language. Conversations feel confusing, overwhelming, intimidating, and this is why I have this kind of podcast.

You know, I could have done a podcast where we talked about grammar or where I said, hey, here are five phrasal verbs you can use today. Those have value, but the goal of this podcast is to help you understand the culture behind the language and to see how language is used in real-world context.

For topics like this, it's hard if you're just learning English from a textbook. Textbooks often focus on safe English, neutral [00:11:00] English, academic English, but real-life English is emotional, it's personal. People talk about what they want, what they're working on, what they're trying to improve, what they want to happen next. And if you don't know the language to express that, you can often end up feeling quiet in situations where you have a lot to say.

Now, knowing this language, knowing this type of vocabulary, gives you power, gives you choice, helps you understand conversations better, respond more naturally, and decide how you want to show up in English.

In this episode, we are going to explore the expressions that Americans actually use when we're talking about motivation and ambition. This is what you're going to hear in an office, in a classroom, conversations, podcasts, TV shows, and most importantly, real life.

My goal [00:12:00] for you for this episode is that you walk away not just understanding these expressions, but really feeling more comfortable talking about your own journey in English. So if you've ever felt stuck when talking about your goals or unsure about how to express your motivation, or even curious about why Americans talk the way they do about success and effort, this is the perfect episode for you.

Before we continue, I just want to remind you that there is a study guide waiting for you that will help you review everything that you've learned in this episode. According to science, you need repetition in order to really learn new vocabulary. In fact, you need about six to seven times of exposure [00:13:00] before you can add vocabulary to your memory. Once this happens, you become more confident and more likely to use these words and expressions.

Between the episode and the study guide, you will get these six to seven times of repetition so that you will more easily remember this vocabulary. In order to get the study guide, click the link in the episode description.

In the study guide, you'll get words, definitions, example sentences, the story, the transcript, and most importantly, practice activities. This will give you the six to seven times of exposure that you need to remember this vocabulary. In order to get the study guide, just click the link in the episode description.

All right. Let's talk about the vocabulary that you'll be [00:14:00] learning in this episode. We have self-made, to be driven, to be all in, go after, goal-oriented, on a mission, to make a name for yourself, to have your eye on the prize, to be locked in, grinding, push yourself, stick with, where there's a will, there's a way, get your foot in the door, to light a fire under someone, to go the extra mile, to power through, and to put in the work.

Now I'm going to read you a story that I created with all of the vocabulary in real-life contexts. As I read, listen for the vocabulary and see if you can understand without knowing the [00:15:00] definitions of every word. See if you can use context to define vocabulary. Then after the story, we'll review all of the definitions, and you'll hear some new example sentences.

Here we go.
 Alex had just graduated from university with his master's degree when he decided that he needed a big change. Since childhood, he had been extremely driven and decided that by 40 he would be a self-made millionaire. He knew that he wouldn't be able to achieve his goals in his small hometown.

So instead of going back home after graduating, he decided to move to New York City without any connections, money, or a backup plan. But what he did have was ambition. He was a [00:16:00] highly motivated person, and from day one, he decided to be all in and to go after what he wanted.

Even if it meant failing a few times along the way, Alex had always been goal-oriented, but this time felt different. He wasn't just dreaming anymore about his future. He was on a mission. He wanted to make a name for himself in digital marketing, and he knew it wouldn't happen overnight. Still, he kept his eye on the prize, reminding himself why he started whenever things got tough.

His goal was to work for Worldwide Media, the biggest name in digital marketing. It would take a while before he would be qualified enough for a position with the company, so he needed a job [00:17:00] that would help him get some experience. After three to four months of applying and interviewing, he finally found an entry-level marketing job with a different company that was full-time.

He hit the ground running, and because of that, his days were really long. He typically worked 10 hours a day, and then he went home and spent his evenings taking online courses, getting trainings, working on projects, and building up his resume. Most nights, he was completely locked in, barely noticing that time was passing, and instead focusing on improving his skills.

Even when his friends invited him out, he would typically say no, staying home grinding and devoting himself totally to improving his skills. There were many moments [00:18:00] along the way when he felt like quitting and going back home. Many rejection emails and calls piled up, and he really had to push himself to keep going. Everyone kept saying that he didn't have enough experience, but instead of giving up, he chose to stick with it. He believed where there's a will, there's a way, even if he couldn't see the path yet.

Then one random day, he got an email about an entry-level position at Worldwide Media. It wasn't really the position that he wanted, but he figured that all he needed was to get his foot in the door so that he could get a better position in the future. He applied immediately and heard back the next day.

But while he was in the interview, both he and the hiring manager realized that this wasn't [00:19:00] the position for him. He lacked some key qualifications. He was really disappointed, but instead of being discouraged, it lit a fire under him. He decided to rewrite his resume, reach out to professionals, and sign up for a new certification course.

He knew that in order to get his dream job, he needed to go the extra mile. He also wrote a thank-you note to the interviewing manager at Worldwide Media, hoping to keep the connection. He set a goal of six months to improve his skills enough to be ready to reapply at Worldwide Media. Weeks turned into months, and even though some days were exhausting, he knew he had to power through. He continued to put in the work even though he [00:20:00] was exhausted, and eventually his work paid off.

One morning, he checked his email and saw an invitation from the HR manager he had interviewed with months earlier from Worldwide Media. They were hosting a networking and recruiting event. Hiring managers would be at the event, looking to hire new talent. He registered for the event and started preparing his resume and preparing for the interview. He had two weeks to prepare.

The night of the event came, and Alex prayed that this night would change everything. His hard work paid off because that night he was given an interview for his dream role. His first interview went extremely well, and he was invited back for a second interview the following week. [00:21:00] Over the next month, he went through four rounds of interviews before finally getting that golden call saying that he had been hired. He would be working with luxury clients on their marketing, which is exactly what he had always wanted to do. On his first day of work, Alex thought back about the past year and how much he had to motivate himself to get to where he was that day, and he realized that never quitting always pays off in the end.

First up, we have to be driven. Now, this has nothing to do with driving a car or any type of vehicle. This is completely different. This is a phrase that means to be highly motivated [00:22:00] and determined to succeed. In the story, you hear that Alex has been driven since childhood, and this means that he has been a highly motivated person.

We use the word drive. She's got drive. He's got drive. It's passion, motivation, ambition. For example, my sister has always been extremely driven and never gives up on her goals.

Next up, we have the adjective self-made. Alex had the goal of becoming a self-made millionaire. This means to be successful as a result of your own efforts rather than getting help from others. So, for example, you have royalty, right? You have kings and queens. We also have what we call an [00:23:00] heiress or an heir, someone who inherits their family's money. Those people are not self-made. Self-made means that you made your success yourself. In the United States, most millionaires and billionaires are self-made. They worked hard from their own efforts to achieve that. In fact, that's a lot of what the American Dream is. For example, he's a self-made entrepreneur who started with nothing.

Next up, we have the expression to be all in. This means to be fully committed to something without hesitation. You are putting 100% of your effort into something, and there's no doubt. There's no [00:24:00] hesitation at all. So oftentimes, someone will give you a proposal like, hey, this is my plan. Do you wanna join me? And if you say, yeah, I'm all in, that means 100% of my commitment is there. For example, once he accepted the role at his new company, he was all in.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb to go after. Go after in this context means to try hard to achieve something, to try hard to get what you want. In the story, they describe Alex as someone who goes after what he wants. This means that most things do not stop you from getting what you want. So you want something, and even though you know it's going to be [00:25:00] challenging, you still do it anyway.

Next up, we have the adjective goal-oriented. This means to be focused on achieving specific results, specific goals. So if I say she's a very goal-oriented person, that means that this person has a lot of goals in life, a lot of desires, and things that they want to achieve, success that they want to see. And it's typically very specific goals. So it's not someone who says, I want to be rich by the time I am 30. It's someone who says, I want to start my own fashion brand by the time I'm 25, or I want to be an aerospace engineer right after university. They're typically very specific goals because they say that if you have specific goals, you're more likely to achieve them than just general goals. [00:26:00] For example, he's very goal-oriented and always works with a clear plan.

Next up, we have an idiom: to be on a mission. To be on a mission is to be very focused, to be very determined to achieve something. Typically, nothing can stop you because you are on a mission. For example, she's on a mission to become a manager by next year.

Next up, we have the idiom to make a name for yourself. To make a name for yourself means to become well-known or respected for what you do. You want people to know you for what you complete, for what you succeed at. For example, he made a name for himself through hard work and consistency.

Next up, we have the idiom to have your eye on the [00:27:00] prize. A prize is something that you get when you do something well, like winning a competition, for example. So when we say have your eye on the prize, this means to stay focused on your main goal. Whatever the reward is, whatever the prize is, whatever you're going to succeed at, stay focused and keep your eyes on it. For example, even during difficult times, she kept her eye on the prize.

Next up, we have locked in. Now, locked in, depending on how it's used, can be an adjective. It can be slang or a phrasal verb. In this context, it's an adjective because we are saying to be locked in. But you can also say to lock in, and that is a phrasal verb or [00:28:00] slang. To be locked in means to be completely focused and not distracted. I know it's strange because normally lock means to put some kind of bolt or security measure on a door, but in this case, it means that your focus is very sharp, very strong, and you are not distracted. For example, during the project, he was locked in and highly productive.

Next up, we have grinding, or to grind. Grinding means working very hard for a long time, often with little rest, like you work, work, work, work, working. Maybe you're a workaholic and you get very few breaks, very little rest. For example, she's been grinding every day to build her career.

Next up, we [00:29:00] have to push yourself. To push yourself is a phrase that means to make yourself work harder than what feels comfortable. So we say to get out of your comfort zone, to challenge yourself a little bit more, but you really have to push. You wanna quit, but you don't wanna quit, so you have to push yourself to keep going. For example, I know it's hard, but you really have to push yourself if you want to get healthy.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb stick with, or stick with something. To stick with something means to continue doing something despite difficulties. Now, you can also say to stick with someone, and that means to continue to support someone despite difficulties. Like, for example, if you know someone going through addiction, maybe they'll say, oh, he stuck [00:30:00] with me during my addiction. But in this context, we're using it for doing something and not quitting despite challenges and difficulties. For example, he stuck with the job even when it got challenging.

Next up, we have an idiom, but really this is what we call a proverb. It's like words of wisdom that get passed down from culture to culture, like a penny saved is a penny earned, meaning if you save a penny, it's like you're earning a penny, for example. So this one is where there's a will, there's a way. In English, will can be a modal, right? But will can also be a noun, and it means your determination. Where there's a will, where there's determination, where there's fight, there's a way. This means that if you are determined enough, you will find a solution. [00:31:00] We say this all the time, like, oh, my boss said no to giving me a promotion, but I'm gonna keep asking anyway. Where there's a will, there's a way. For example, don't switch classes just because your teacher failed you. You can do better. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Next up, we have one of my favorite idioms. I love teaching this idiom to my students. We've talked about it before. This is a business idiom, but we use it also for motivation and ambition. And this wasn't on the original list, but then when I was creating the story, it came up naturally, and I said, you know what? Let's include this, and that is to get your foot in the door. This is an idiom that means to get a first smaller job or opportunity that leads to something better in the future.

This is always the example I give. Here in the US, working for Google is like everyone's dream job because of all the benefits and perks that you get. So every time there's job openings at Google, thousands of people apply, and most of them are overqualified. Like, you have people with master's degrees and doctorate degrees applying to be secretaries and administrative assistants. And the reason why they do this is because they want to get their foot in the door, meaning they want to accept a smaller position, a smaller opportunity, so that they can get into the company. Because once you're in the company, it's easier to move up. I'm not sure if it works the same way in your culture, but in American culture, if there's a job opening, first they ask current employees. So we'll get an email saying, hey, if you wanna apply for this position, you can apply. So it's easier once you're in the [00:33:00] company to move up rather than going from the outside. There's an advantage there. For example, the internship after college helped him get his foot in the door.

Next up, we have the idiom to light a fire under someone. This means to strongly motivate someone to take action. So maybe you feel that someone isn't working hard enough, someone's being a bit lazy. You want to strongly motivate them. You want them to take action. So we say you're gonna light a fire under someone. It's like you put fire under them and it gets hot, so they start moving and running around. For example, the upcoming deadline lit a fire under the entire team.

Next, we have the idiom to go the extra mile. To go the extra mile is a great idiom. It means to do more than what is expected. You can hear this in [00:34:00] customer service and sales. You can hear it here for motivation and ambition. So, for example, if I get a tour of a university and they really showed me amazing hospitality, amazing service, and they were very kind, I would say they really went the extra mile to make us feel welcome. They did more than what was expected of them. For example, he is the top seller at work because he always goes the extra mile for his clients.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb to power through. To power through means to continue doing something despite feeling tired or discouraged. You really wanna quit. Things are not going well, but you decide to put all of your energy into continuing, into finishing your race, and to keep going. [00:35:00] For example, he powered through the final weeks of training.

And lastly, we have the expression to put in the work. To put in the work means to make the necessary effort in order to achieve success. So you know what you need to do to do something well. You can either put in the work or not. You either do what's necessary, make the necessary effort to do it, or you don't. For example, if you really want results, you have to put in the work.

Well, guess what? You just learned some amazing new vocabulary that you can use to build your confidence in English. The final step is some homework that I'm gonna give you that's gonna really help you remember everything that you [00:36:00] learned in this episode.

So if you haven't already, go and download the study guide that you can get the link to in the episode description. After you get the study guide, you'll notice there are a lot of practice activities in there and information that's gonna help you.

However, what I want you to do is I want you to choose five to seven of the vocabulary words and expressions from the episode and use them this week. This is a great opportunity for you to challenge yourself and use the words in real-life context. You can record yourself reading the words and creating sentences in an audio file on your phone, or you can teach someone.

So do you have a friend or family member who wants to learn English? You can teach them what you learned in this episode. [00:37:00] Teaching other people really makes you a pro at grammar. Before I became a teacher, I was not a pro at grammar, but once I started teaching it, now I'm a pro in the English language. But it wasn't like that until I started teaching.

You can even just keep a journal where you write down the definitions and you create your own sentences. Maybe you try to create a story, or you can even come up with a story talking about yourself and using these words to talk about your own ambition and motivation. Whatever way you choose to practice these words, just make sure you're doing it so that you can get one step closer to meeting your English goals.

Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this [00:38:00] episode, don't forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I'd love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.
 Thanks so much for tuning in.