I was interviewing Franz Nicolay about his book, Band People, and at one point I asked him, “Where do you think ambition comes from?”

Before he could answer, I blurted out, “I think it comes from a big hole in you!”

We laughed. He didn’t disagree.

Here’s Tony Schwartz on the two lessons he learned from being Donald Trump’s ghostwriter:

The first lesson is that a lack of conscience can be a huge advantage when it comes to accruing power, attention and wealth in a society where most other human beings abide by a social contract. The second lesson is that nothing we get for ourselves from the outside world can ever adequately substitute for what we’re missing on the inside.

Casually, and anecdotally, this is what I’ve often observed in my (thankfully limited) experiences around famous or quasi-famous people.

First, it’s hard to tell in the “suck-cessful” what’s ambition or drive or hard work or whatever you want to call it and what’s sociopathy.

Second, fame never fixes anything for anybody.

Because nothing from the outside will fill what’s missing on the inside.