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.

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