I have to admit, when I went to look up "ruthless" in a dictionary, I got variants on this: "without pity or compassion; cruel; merciless." Frankly, I've never thought of ruthlessness in this fashion, although I suppose that's part of 'it'. I did find these synonyms that describe my usual meaning of the word;
unrelenting, adamant, relentless.
To me, being 'unrelenting', 'adamant, and 'relentless' are virtues--and powerful ones at that.
Why you should care:
There has never been a wildly successful person in the world, in ANY field, that did not exemplify these characteristics.
Try me: From Henry Ford to JK Rowling to Mother Theresa to Napoleon, Florence Nightingale. ANYONE who is ANYONE lives, breathes and bathes in these virtues.
And you are the exception? I don't think so.
In short: follow my plan: a) begin the process of 'knowing theyself'; b) begin an amazing summary of your professional and personal successes (resume; CV); c) learn how to network with people that can get you what you want; d) develop a team (posse) that is dedicated to your success; e) work on a truly detailed and well-thought-out professional plan (ONLY after all of the foregoing); f) understanding how to 'interview,' 'sell', 'promote' yourself or your product/service; and, finally g) understand the principles of motivation.
Papers on each of these are found on this blog. But the point is, to succeed: you must figure out what it is you want (and you ALREADY know what it is so stop whining!), then decide you are going to do it, BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT. Make the decision, now, that nothing, nothing, not even grievous personal harm or death will stop you from reaching your goal.
If you aren't ready for that, get back under the porch. No shame. Just get out of the way or you'll just hurt yourself worse. Moral? Get your internal house in order. Get it in order and then get out the door and take what is already yours.
See you at the finish line.
