Customer Reviews

Ambition to Meaning: Finding Your Life's Purposes, expanded version

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recommend the two-DVD, Deluxe edition, rather than the single DVD sold here. The first DVD is the "movie" (which is more of a docudrama) and is 2 hours long. The second is a supplemental disc containing about 2+ hours of interviews, additional movie footage, and music. Both DVD's are excellent and you may find they are worth a few dollars more for the set, as compared to the single DVD version that is available here. The second DVD contains the taped interview with Dr. Dyer that the movie was ultimately written around. It goes into depth into areas sometimes only touched on in the movie itself. However, if your more of a cut-to-the-chase-type, then the single DVD should work just fine for you - it's the one I've watched the most, and continue to go back to time and again.

The movie follows the stories of various guests checking into a beautiful resort along the California Coast: a young family; a wealthy couple with a troubled marriage; and my favorite, an ambition-driven director, wonderfully played by Michael Deluise, whom I remember as a frequent guest star on the Gilmore Girls. (Some trivia here - he is also the son of Dom Deluise.) The director and his small crew are filming a docudrama starring Dr. Dyer (played as himself).

All of the key characters in the film experience what Dr. Dyer describes as a "quantum moment". It opens the door to transformation for them as they recognize and begin to live "the music inside" that Dr. Dyer teaches we were all born with but too often push aside while we are busy living our lives. One of the key points in the movie: what if we come to the end of our life and discover it was all wrong?

The three stories (as well as some additional, interesting character development) are expertly woven throughout the movie and accompanied by voice-over's from Dr. Dyer. His deep, soothing voice always seems to hit the mark and works perfectly within each scene that it is added to. (Not too much, not too little.) The dramatizations are used to illustrate Dr. Dyer's timely teaching (mostly Taoist) of transformation from a life of ambition into a more meaningful life; a life that can be just as successful and full of prosperity and ambition as you desire but with greater significance through a deeper, spiritual motivation. It is a wonderful departure from the usual "live-audience seminar" format of most personal growth DVD's.

The narrative and story lines used as a way to exemplify the ideas presented here remind me of another Hay House production also directed by Michael Goorijan "You Can Heal Your life" starring Louise Hay, and of another docudrama, not related to Hay House or Goorijan, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" (I recommend the "Quantum Edition" only, as you can edit out the sometimes tasteless dramatizations & it offers hours of additional interviews). Although both of these are excellent DVD's and highly recommended, "Ambition to Meaning" is so expertly written, directed, acted and produced that it has raised the bar and taken this genre to a whole new level. The cinematography of the Monterey Coast is absolutely breathtaking. The tranquil original musical score is worth noting as well. Especially nice are the original piano pieces played by "Joe, the Janitor" mid-way through the movie. (Don't ask... you just have to see the movie - it really does work.)

I have watched "Ambition to Meaning" countless times now and continue to learn something new and unexpected about myself with each viewing. This is not a "spiritual addiction" response as a previous commenter asserts of another reviewer of the Deluxe Edition who also said they have watched this movie repeatedly. But rather it is to be encouraged if you wish to explore your true purpose in life - or just want to make sense of life's struggles and challenges. Also worth pointing out is that I am a Christian and find these teachings well attuned to the teachings of Jesus. I believe, whatever your faith, you will find the movie inspiring if not life-altering.

"Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you". God bless all who watch this DVD in the spirit it was intended. You will be all the richer and wiser for it.

Updated January 2011: Sorry for the duplicate review here... this originally appeared on a different page when these DVD's were sold in two different packaging sets (one was a single disc version and the other a two-disc set which I reviewed below). The duplicate review you see above appeared along with the single DVD version which has since been deleted, so the reviews have been combined.

Also worth noting is shortly after the original release of this DVD, the name was changed to THE SHIFT, and you can still purchase it new under this name if you desire. But it is the same movie as reviewed here. Note, the only way to purchase the original "Ambitious To Meaning" title is to buy it used, here. If you decided to do this instead of buying the re-named version, you might want to check to see if you are getting the single disc version or the double disc set, as this particular product page doesn't really make it clear which version is being sold here.

Hope this helps sort out what has caused a bit of confusion. I think it would have been good if the folks at Hay House had gotten their act together before releasing this great movie in multiple disc-sets and names. (End of update)


This is a two-DVD set: the first DVD is the "movie" (which is more of a docudrama) and is 2 hours long. The second is a supplemental disc containing about 2+ hours of interviews, additional movie footage, and music. Both DVD's are excellent and worth a few dollars more for the set, as compared to the single DVD version that is also available. The second DVD contains the taped interview with Dr. Dyer that the movie was ultimately written around. It goes into depth into areas sometimes only touched on in the movie itself.

The movie follows the stories of various guests checking into a beautiful resort along the California Coast: a young family; a wealthy couple with a troubled marriage; and my favorite, an ambition-driven director, wonderfully played by Michael Deluise, whom I remember as a frequent guest star on the Gilmore Girls. (Some trivia here - he is also the son of Dom Deluise.) The director and his small crew are filming a docudrama starring Dr. Dyer (played as himself).

All of the key characters in the film experience what Dr. Dyer describes as a "quantum moment". It opens the door to transformation for them as they recognize and begin to live "the music inside" that Dr. Dyer teaches we were all born with but too often push aside while we are busy living our lives. One of the key points in the movie: what if we come to the end of our life and discover it was all wrong?

The three stories (as well as some additional, interesting character development) are expertly woven throughout the movie and accompanied by voice-over's from Dr. Dyer. His deep, soothing voice always seems to hit the mark and works perfectly within each scene that it is added to. (Not too much, not too little.) The dramatizations are used to illustrate Dr. Dyer's timely teaching (mostly Taoist) of transformation from a life of ambition into a more meaningful life; a life that can be just as successful and full of prosperity and ambition as you desire but with greater significance through a deeper, spiritual motivation. It is a wonderful departure from the usual "live-audience seminar" format of most personal growth DVD's.

The narrative and story lines used as a way to exemplify the ideas presented here remind me of another Hay House production also directed by Michael Goorijan "You Can Heal Your life" starring Louise Hay, and of another docudrama, not related to Hay House or Goorijan, "What the Bleep Do We Know?" (I recommend the "Quantum Edition" only, as you can edit out the sometimes tasteless dramatizations & it offers hours of additional interviews). Although both of these are excellent DVD's and highly recommended, "Ambition to Meaning" is so expertly written, directed, acted and produced that it has raised the bar and taken this genre to a whole new level. The cinematography of the Monterey Coast is absolutely breathtaking. The tranquil original musical score is worth noting as well. Especially nice are the original piano pieces played by "Joe, the Janitor" mid-way through the movie. (Don't ask... you just have to see the movie - it really does work.)

I have watched "Ambition to Meaning" countless times now and continue to learn something new and unexpected about myself with each viewing. This is not a "spiritual addiction" response as a previous commenter asserts of another reviewer who also said they have watched this movie repeatedly. But rather it is to be encouraged if you wish to explore your true purpose in life - or just want to make sense of life's struggles and challenges. Also worth pointing out is that I am a Christian and find these teachings well attuned to the teachings of Jesus. I believe, whatever your faith, you will find the movie inspiring if not life-altering.

"Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you". God bless all who watch this DVD in the spirit it was intended. You will be all the richer and wiser for it.

I think Hay House did it again and put out another meaningful movie. I enjoyed every minute of it. Don't buy this movie for great acting but for the message. It is a message I have heard Dr. Dyer talk about before but the scenery is lovely and I believe he gets his point across. I think it is a message you can never hear enough. Ambition to Meaning will be a movie like "You Can Heal Your Life" which I will watch many times over. If you are a Dr. Dyer fan or a Hay House fan I don't think you will be disappointed.

I thought the acting was excellent. Very natural, looked like real people to me and very convincing. Wayne's talking got a bit long in places. The point came across, but I thought this is too simple. The advice is easy it's putting it into real life that is the work. Knowing when to flow and when to assert, knowing when you're being selfish and when you are preserving your inner being in a healthy way.

I don't resonate with his use of God, it stills feels dualistic to me as if God is seperate from the ego and only in the flow, for me God is all there is and that includes when we use our ego and when we use our higher self. It kind of misses the point of the Tao to use dualistic terms I think. I prefer to use other terms and leave God out of it, but that's just me.

I kept watching the movie to find out the stories of the characters, and I thought the janitor had the most to offer as far as wisdom.

I think this type of movie is needed to balance out hollywood's influence, but we all know that it's still only one way of looking at the world through a very small lense and to apply it to real life will be a lot more complex and different for each individual.

I loved this film (documdrama) and the messages behind it. Dr. Wayne (one of my personal favorites) is being interviewed throughout the movie, as part of the "plot" highlighting the stories of several people trying to find purpose in their ego-driven lives. Each needs to reach a crisis point, a dark-night-of-the-soul (Dr. Wayne calls it a "quantum moment"), before they can change direction ... from ambition (morning of life) to meaning (afternoon of life). The expanded two-DVD version has more interview with Dr. Wayne as well as additional scenes from the movie and other special selections.

Simply put, I was blown away by Ambition to Meaning.

I've been reading spirituality-related materials for years, including some of Wayne Dyer's work. After watching Ambition to Meaning I noticed that a subtle shift had taken place within me. I was able to internalize the teachings Dyer offers in the film in a way that was effortless: for the first time, I felt and "knew" Dr. Dyer's teachings on an internal level, rather than just as an external idea to be discussed.

The movie is very well positioned to have this kind of impact. I am a media psychology student who has been studying how movies like this can make an impact. In my career, I intend to make movies that can spark an inner change in viewers, and I have never seen a movie that has been as effective in that regard as this one. Ambition to Meaning itself is a combination of Dyer, who plays himself as a character in the movie, offering his teachings alongside fictional character stories which demonstrate them. The subtle combination of Dyer's real-life message with relatable stories makes integrating his teachings automatic in a way that I don't yet understand (but would like to!). It's safe to say that I will be keeping this movie in mind as an benchmark I'd like to meet in my own filmmaking work.

Another sharp departure this movie takes from others like it is that Dyer has created it without the ego that usually accompanies spiritual teachings. He plays himself and is himself within the movie - although he is acting, it is not an act - and he offers his teachings and these stories freely and openly. You can sense that he is nonattached as to whether or not the characters he interacts with in the movie (as well as the viewer) will accept what he is saying at all: he just offers it because it comes from who he is. This made Ambition to Meaning a very refreshing movie to watch, and made Dyer's teachings very easily accessible.

If you feel interested in watching this movie, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you, Dr. Dyer, not only for offering who you are to all of us, but for doing it in a way that is a true departure from what has ever been done before!

Although this movie is extremly well done, I also enjoyed it under its "other" title, "The Shift" by the same author, stars, etc. - It is THE SAME MOVIE. Having ejoyed 'The Shift' when it was on loan from a friend in its short version (i.e., not Deluxe), I decided to purchase it for myself in the Deluxe Edition and was pleasantly suprised to find, what I believed to be, 'another in the series', and purchased Ambition to Meaning. Sadly, it was the later that I recieved first, only to find out, that I had actually purchased another copy of 'The Shift' as it was originally marketed - disappointing! Unfortunately, had I received my copy of 'The Shift' first, perhaps I would have noticed the fine print stating: "Formerly titled 'AMBITION TO MEANING' This should be more obviously stated with the product description (if included at all.)

For those who would rather watch a movie than read about the current spiritual ideals being presented today, This is the DVD for you! Dr. Dyer steps out of his role as writer and lecturer while encouraging others to do the Tao. Cleverly, he is commissioned by a film crew to state to the world his present teachings. An attitude shift occurs within the film crew set in a resort-type setting which coincides with other shift changes at the resort. While the stories were long-winded, you can't escape the messages that emulate Dyer's overall philosophy of personal empowerment which leads to the meaning of ambition.

Please note that this is a "mix" of a movie with characters that revolve around each other's interactions with Dr. Wayne Dyer mixed in there. The information he shares is still relevant. If you are familiar with his work, it is not new, but still refreshing to hear. I think he did a marvelous job in this DVD. Quotes stood out, and situations the people were in are familiar roles we all know or have played. It is a slow format, but if you watch to listen for the messages you will get them. I hope this review has been helpful. Namaste.

At last, here is Wayne Dyer's first movie, filmed part fictional story and part real. It follows very characters in vignettes that are interwoven on their weekend journey at a spiritually oriented getaway spot - all on a backdrop of the motivational guru being interviewed at the same local). Now renamed The Shift, this is somehow one of the most relaxing and uplifting films that makes you think, in a quiet way, how far off-track we all get and what life would be like if we led instinct first, ego second. Unlike The Secret which touches on some themes Wayne Dyer has long espoused, this is a lower key, substantial film that is about finding meaning and your own center (vs. using tricks of manifestation to bring on the wealth and material rewards which are not, in the long run, as meaningful as knowing what you need for true inner nourishment). The acting is notably natural which is what makes the film particularly unique. But for those who enjoy Dyer books and talks, it's another window of perception seeing him in this film, expressing his views, his way and style - in yet another dimension. If you didn't know anything about the concepts nor hear of Wayne Dyer, you would be entertained and informed. For those that do,this film is a welcome treat; an oasis that reminds you of the bigger picture. What is particularly effective is seeing Dyer himself integrate his perceptions and words within a larger 'story' (vs. just reading his words in his books) and secondarily, seeing 'average folks scenarios' (a busy workaholic, a lonely wife who shops her woes away, a tired out mother of two
who misses her artistic self, etc.) tell their story in conjunction with
some of the Dyer wisdom they come to find - not even realizing they are on a path. What also works is seeing a variety of ages respond to the same messages which adds a component of accessibility and 'organic' sense to anyone's journey.