For me (father of 5 adult children, +2) being an older man and an experienced father (and grandfather as well) my parental responsibilities have largely changed what being ambitious means. As a man in my late 30s to 40s, I was ambitious in a fairly conventional sense, although my focus was a little unconventionally centered. Over the last decade or so, my focus has drifted to ways I can prepare my family for, or influence outcomes of the course of events. Some of those things are intersectional with creating value and benefiting from that process, but that part has become a lot less important to me even if it isn’t any less urgent.
At my age, you start to understand the trajectory aspect of life and how changing circumstances put the lie to the illusion of stability and permanence. You start to glimpse things in the context of centuries, with decades as fundamental units rather than years, or months. Even things that happened before you were born begin to seem recent, and things evolving half a decade or more in the future are fairly clear and immediately relevant.
Watching time compress as you age is indeed illuminating.
Another thing is arguments you have as a child with an adult. It's not that kids are always "technically" wrong when they argue their cases or reasons for things - It's that you realize how impactful actions/words are and often technical details don't matter as much as the grand scheme of things.
At my age, you start to understand the trajectory aspect of life and how changing circumstances put the lie to the illusion of stability and permanence. You start to glimpse things in the context of centuries, with decades as fundamental units rather than years, or months. Even things that happened before you were born begin to seem recent, and things evolving half a decade or more in the future are fairly clear and immediately relevant.