I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my

Lionel Messi, the quiet titan of the beautiful game, once declared: “I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my ambition. The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.” Though simple in its phrasing, this statement is a torch passed down to all who strive: greatness is not a final destination, but an endless ascent. The one who stops climbing the mountain of growth has already begun to descend.

The ancients would have heard these words and nodded, for they too believed that mastery lies not in completion, but in the refusal to stagnate. To live is to sharpen the blade, again and again, lest it rust. Messi’s humility shines here—though the world already crowned him among the greatest, he looked not to the trophies of yesterday but to the work of tomorrow. The ambition he speaks of is not hunger for glory, but hunger for growth.

Consider the tale of Alexander the Great. Though he had conquered lands beyond imagining, he wept when no more worlds seemed left to conquer. Yet what Alexander sought was territory; what Messi seeks is mastery of self. And this pursuit is nobler, for the inner journey knows no end. A man can conquer nations and yet be empty, but the one who conquers his own complacency never ceases to grow.

There is wisdom also in the warning: “The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one.” Sad, because it means the flame has dimmed, the hunger has died, and the spirit of play has been lost. In every craft, whether art, war, music, or sport, the moment one declares oneself complete is the moment decline begins. History remembers too many rulers, thinkers, and champions who, believing themselves perfect, ceased to learn—and so were surpassed by others who still had fire in their hearts.

We see this lesson mirrored in Leonardo da Vinci, who even in old age filled his notebooks with sketches, designs, and questions. He never allowed himself to believe that his knowledge was complete. His greatness lay not only in his genius, but in his refusal to believe he had reached the summit. Like Messi, he saw each day as a chance to rise higher, to carve beauty and skill from the stone of discipline.

From this, we learn that ambition is not greed, but devotion: the unyielding desire to refine the gifts given to us. Whatever your field—be it the field of battle, the stage of art, the classroom, or the office—never let yourself think you have reached the final word. Ask instead each day: What can I learn? Where can I grow? How may I refine my craft? To live this way is to walk the eternal path of mastery.

Therefore, take Messi’s words as your own compass. When praised, do not rest in pride; when criticized, do not sink in despair. Keep your eyes fixed on the next step of growth. Be grateful for progress, but never call it complete. For the soul that keeps improving is forever young, forever alive, and forever ascending.

And so the teaching is this: let no day pass without the pursuit of growth. Whether in skill, in wisdom, or in kindness, always seek the next horizon. For to stop climbing is to die before death. But to rise each day with ambition, to believe there is always something more to learn—that is the way to live greatly, and to live without end.