Henry Kissinger quote: advice on career ambition

Henry Kissinger advised: 'Don't be too ambitious. Do the most important thing you can think of doing every year and then your career will take care of itself'.

Kissinger served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

Kissinger warned against careerism, which is an obsession with titles or raises rather than doing good work.

He advised focusing on the most important task each year instead of rigid multi-decade plans.