Thank you for the forthright reply. There is widespread misunderstanding of ego by western beginners, (and western Buddhism itself is in a developing stage). They rush to conclusions by grasping instructions intended for those at the end of the path (arahants), where total letting go is required. The suttas appropriate to beginners state that the bulk of the path depends on a refining sense of self. This is because the noble eightfold path is conditioned, and ego is required in dealing skillfully with things driven by the polarities of anger and desire. AN 11.13 which I originally quoted is the Buddha instructing a layperson who asked what mind states he should remain in while in household life.
Here Ananda is addressing a nun, and that personnel indicates a sutta at beginner level. Ananda is permitted by the protocol of the Canon, and by their respective stages of development to say things the Buddha would not say:
"‘This body comes into being through craving. And yet it is by relying on craving that craving is to be abandoned.’ Thus was it said. And in reference to what was it said? There is the case, sister, where a monk hears, ‘The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now.’ The thought occurs to him, ‘I hope that I, too, will — through the ending of the fermentations — enter & remain in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for myself in the here & now.’ Then he eventually abandons craving, having relied on craving. ‘This body comes into being through craving. And yet it is by relying on craving that craving is to be abandoned.’ Thus was it said. And in reference to this was it said.
“‘This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.’ Thus was it said. And in reference to what was it said? There is the case, sister, where a monk hears, ‘The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now.’ The thought occurs to him, ‘The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now. Then why not me?’ Then he eventually abandons conceit, having relied on conceit. ‘This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.’ Thus was it said, and in reference to this was it said.”—AN 4.159
The practitioner has to have ego and ambition, but it should be of a higher level than what they are normally accustomed to as conditioned by materialism. The goal is not material gain, but spiritual development based on a belief in the results of the kamma of wholesome thought.