I am greedy, in the positive sense of the word. I want to score

The words of Eidur Gudjohnsen, “I am greedy, in the positive sense of the word. I want to score in every game,” burn with the fire of ambition and the hunger for greatness. Here, greed is not the corruption of the spirit, but the fierce desire to achieve, to excel, to push beyond mediocrity. It is the kind of greed that does not consume others, but consumes only one’s own limits, driving the soul ever forward in pursuit of victory.

The origin of such thought lies deep within the heart of competition. From the ancient arenas of Olympia to the grand stadiums of today, athletes have known that greatness cannot be born of half-measure. To long for glory, to yearn for triumph with unyielding passion, is the essence of the champion’s soul. Such greed is sacred, for it is not about possession, but about striving—about refusing to be satisfied with less than one’s very best.

Consider the tale of Michael Jordan, who once said he played every game as though a child might be watching him for the first and only time. His hunger to score, to dominate, to push beyond what was thought possible, made him more than an athlete—it made him a legend. His relentless pursuit mirrors Gudjohnsen’s words: that to be greedy in this sense is to respect the game so deeply that one gives everything, every time.

Gudjohnsen’s claim also carries a deeper wisdom: that ambition, when guided rightly, becomes not arrogance but fuel. To declare, “I want to score in every game,” is not to boast of easy conquest, but to pledge one’s devotion to consistency, discipline, and honor. It is to say that each opportunity, no matter how small, deserves the fullness of effort and the fierceness of will.

This is a lesson not for athletes alone but for all of life. To be greedy for excellence, positive in ambition, relentless in pursuit—this is the path of mastery in every craft, every calling. For the true measure of greatness lies not in the victories one happens upon, but in the unyielding desire to make every day, every task, every game, a chance to rise.

Let the generations remember: there is a greed that destroys, and there is a greed that builds. The first hungers for power at the expense of others; the second hungers for greatness through the perfection of self. Choose the latter, and you will find that in every field of battle—be it of sport, of work, or of spirit—you will rise again and again, always striving, always scoring, until your very life itself becomes a victory.