Ambition

Ambition and ego are almost inseparable from youth. With time we grow beyond a 'me' focus, become empathetic to others and put self second. As ego fades what becomes the place of ambition?

Ambition for an artist is often a distraction. Artists work best when they are in the 'flow'. Flow is when the 'act of the task' offers all the fulfilment the artist needs. Fulfilment doesn't exist in achievement or recognition later down the track. Flow is where artists make the richest creations.

What of ambition then? What is its place? Ambition is not connected to the work of the moment. It is connected to the future. It is connected to foreseeing where work will lead. For this reason ambition is important to identify and use wisely. It is naive to discard it simply as ego and render it useless.

I recently heard of 'Tohunga' or 'master practitioner' described as someone who recognises signs and events to track what future outcome lays ahead. This person is skilled in leading others along this path without explicitly giving away the path. Giving away the path would of course render the journey pointless for the student.

Connecting dots toward a future uses all the same skills we learn from youthful 'ambition'.  It is certainly a skill we have come to expect of the ambitious stock trader or entrepreneur. A master artist then is not one who is without ambition. Quite the contrary. The master artist is one who has conquered ambition.  A master artist can work in the moment, be in the flow, without distraction of the future.  In conjunction with this the master can use ambition as his tool.  This tool allows the master to see where things will lead. This tool will also lead others in their journey toward becoming a master themselves.

Recognise ambition for its worth.