Monday Morning Boost: The Art of Carving Away Our Story
Michelangelo, one of the most esteemed artists of all time, gifted the world with his masterpiece – the sculpture “David”. The brilliance of this art piece lies not only in its exquisite detail and palpable emotion, but also in the process that Michelangelo undertook to create it.
The artist is famously rumored to have said…
“I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David.”
While the authenticity of this quote has been challenged, the principle truth stands firm, suggesting that Michelangelo had a clear idea of what he wanted to create, and that his process involved removing everything that did not contribute to that vision.
In many ways, this approach to creating art can be seen as a metaphor for life. If we can clearly identify our own personal vision, and then work to eliminate everything that does not contribute to it, we may be able to achieve a sense of clarity and purpose that can lead us to success. While the process will rarely be easy, and will require a great deal of self-leadership, intentionally focusing on the elements of our Vision that matter most, we can more easily let go of those things that don’t matter most.
CREATING A VISION
Similar to Michelangelo’s method of carving his masterpiece, we should incorporate the same principle in our lives. Our life is a canvas, and we are the artists. To create our masterpiece, we must be intentional about what we want the vision of our life to look like, feel like, and who we want to be and become in the process.
This intentionality allows us to carve away the unnecessary, the superfluous, and the distracting from our lives. It helps us focus on what matters most and direct our energies towards creating our vision for life. Each of us has our own unique story to tell, and it is up to us to decide what that story will be. No matter what the narrative, the common thread that binds each of our stories is the quest to be our very best.
That is what I call creating our story of love and greatness.
Like Michelangelo, we can create our life’s masterpiece if we intentionally “carve away everything” that is not a part of our vision. When the process feels daunting, remember a diamond is a chunk of coal that did well under pressure. Embrace the process and continue to sculpt your life into a beautiful masterpiece that is uniquely yours.
It’s an incredible journey!
Sidenote: Thanks to Cody Dean for jarring my thinking about Michelangelo and inspiring me to build more on this thought.
Thanks for letting me share. Have a beautiful Monday.
I love you!
Les
p.s. Take 13 minutes today to carve away your vision of greatness.
