Creating a Masterpiece

Michelangelo was once asked by the pope about the secret of his genius, specifically as it related to one of his famous masterpieces, David. He wanted to know how he was able to create the iconic sculpture. Michelangelo stated that he simply removed every piece of marble that was not David. He chipped away all the stone that did not belong.

I think we can learn a lot from this perspective. We are so quick to add something to get a result in life. We add some new supplement or miracle ab toning device to tone up our stomachs instead of cutting out the junk food. We add some magical three-step success program at work instead of eliminating all the wasted time spent on social media and YouTube. We try to earn more money by going to work earlier and staying later but spend part of that time blowing the extra cash buying stupid stuff we don’t need on Amazon. We try to increase inflow without fixing the leaks in outflow.

We are so quick to look to the latest and greatest device, hack, fad, etc. to improve quality of life instead of eliminating the very obvious disrupters of our happiness and productivity. We add to the confusion and distraction without addressing the issues of critical impact.

Avoid the temptation to add the next “right” thing or action and seek opportunities to do less of the wrong things. Look for the areas of your life that are not a part of David – those that do not line up with your objectives – and start chipping them away. Do more by doing less.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on

Primed for Progress

Just as some pumps need to be primed to work effectively, our lives need to be “primed” to flow efficiently. Good mornings and productive days don’t happen by accident, and by “priming” your day, you can set yourself up for better results. Does it mean you won’t have bad days? Of course not, but it’s making your day happen instead of just waiting for what happens. Once again, it’s a choice of being proactive rather than reactive. You will still have challenges and difficulties, but how you face those hurdles and respond to the struggles will be different with a primed mindset. I am sure there are many ways to prime your day and set the tone for the hours ahead, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for all. However, the process of creating a plan or a model of how things should unfold is a great place for anyone to start. Also, as I have mentioned before, how you actually start the morning is critical - the battle with the alarm clock is your first chance at victory for

Flower Among Thorns

About six or seven years ago, my wife was around three months pregnant as we eagerly anticipated the birth of another child. One night, as I lay sleeping, I had a dream that our baby was born. It was a beautiful little girl with thin, wispy hair and large, bright eyes punctuating her beautiful face. I held her proudly in my arms and stared down at this precious little creation. I carefully handed her off to her older brother, who was just a toddler himself, as he sat on the coach, arms outstretched, anxiously awaiting the chance to hold his baby sister. I helped him prop up a pillow underneath his little arms to help support my daughter and then stepped back to take in the amazing sight as he gazed down at her with both pride and amazement in his eyes. As I stood there watching them, the dream quickly faded. When I woke up, my eyes met the tearful glance of my wife. “I’m bleeding,” she said as she fought back the emotions, “I think I am miscarrying.” Those words sunk deeply i

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog