LIWLIG Perspectives #3
Ambition Isn’t a Choice, It’s a Creative Force
In the world of artistic event creation, I have endless admiration for the people who keep their ambition high, even when they know it will demand more energy, more time, and more creative force than they technically have available.
This post is a tribute to them.
To those who push for the strongest possible version of an idea, to those who invest the extra hours before the show and the extra heartbeats during it, to those who refuse to treat artistic work as a checklist, because they feel responsible for shaping the vision, the production, and the emotional outcome for the audience.
The Beauty of Shared Ambition
Something powerful happens when you work with people who carry that same internal fire, sometimes even sharper within their own craft than you are in yours.
When trust is high, when feedback flows, and when ambition becomes a shared language, the equation genuinely changes: 1 + 1 = 3.
For example, in a recent project the concept itself was clear and well defined, but the real challenge lay in how it was brought to life. It was the kind of idea where the execution could easily become scattered or underwhelming if you didn’t think it through fully and push it as far as it needed to go. With a brilliant décor team, talented internal designers, an outstanding motion graphics specialist, and a band always open to new ideas, the ambition in the room wasn’t just high, it was unified. And that made all the difference.
High ambition isn’t about overcomplicating things; it’s about elevating them. It’s about producing the absolute best version of an idea within the constraints you’re given.
Creating vs Executing
In event production there’s a fundamental difference between creating and executing. Inventing ideas is one thing, but inventing ideas that can actually be executed with precision on a real stage, with real timelines, budgets, and limitations … that’s a craft of its own.
Ambition doesn’t ignore constraints; it wrestles with them until something great appears.
Now, the Honest Part, “Good Enough”
At this point, people sometimes ask me: “Can’t you just be satisfied with good enough, Martin?”
And yes, technically, I could. I could stop at idea 1A, deliver it, and check out at 17:00.
But something in me says: “This isn’t it yet.”
Not because the first version is bad, but because there’s a better version waiting, one that does justice to the idea, the team, and the audience. That inner refusal isn’t about ego, it’s about integrity. And I know many creatives feel exactly the same.
The Shadow Side, When Ambition Overheats
But let’s be transparent, ambition comes with risk.
If you’re not careful, the same inner drive that pushes you to refine, elevate, and question can turn into a downward spiral, a motorway straight to burnout. The energy runs out quietly; the pressure becomes interior rather than exterior.
Ambition needs balance, listening inward, protecting your rhythm, maintaining boundaries, staying connected to people who ground you.
Ambition doesn’t have to destroy you, when held with awareness, it enriches life, it builds pride, confidence, and the rare feeling of creating something from nothing.
A Final Thought
For some of us, ambition isn’t optional, it’s a calling, A way of being.
But when you match that calling with the right people, the right collaboration, and the right care, it can become one of the most beautiful forces in the creative world.
Martin Karlsson Westin Creative Producer
