Lessons From Michelangelo

The Desert of Arizona
Cloudy 46 Degrees

Two quotes today from the great artist, Michelangelo…

In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

This is actually just like the process you go through when you’re trying to figure out how to become a “one of a kind” service provider in the marketplace.

Before you have clarity about your answer, you’re pretty much just like a big block of stone. There’s an amazing and unique being in there, but no one can see it.

Nothing has to be “added” to the stone, mind you. Everything that’s needed for the masterpiece is already there. Only the stone that’s covering up the great stuff has to be removed.

We are who we are. We do what we do. We’re excellent (most likely) at only a very few things.

Believe it or not, this is not a problem. These are your raw materials. These “limits” actually make your decisions EASIER. Having NO limits… now there’s a problem if I ever saw one. When you can do “anything,” how do you decide what to do?

Let’s say you decide to create a Platform and start publishing a weekly email newsletter for your prospective clients. Think of each issue like a tap with the hammer on that block of stone. Chip, chip, chip…

Over time, you get feedback, readers tell you about their reactions to your writing. They respond to your ideas, they ask questions about your opinions and approaches.

All of this feedback adds up, and soon, a picture develops. It might be fuzzy at first, but eventually it comes.

That picture reveals clues about what makes you unique and valuable to your clients. Sometimes you have to read between the lines, but it’s totally possible.

Eventually, the picture of you as a unique service provider clears up. And once that clarity appears, then the momentum begins to build.

You don’t waste time with clients who aren’t right for you. And you end up being a beacon for clients who are right for you.

But you have to clear away the stone. You have to have some way to free what is inside. Otherwise, you’ll just look like every other block of stone that’s out there.

If you want to try your hand at chipping away the stone yourself, then here’s a hammer I made for you.

If you’d like to have it “done for you,” then this is the route to go.

My “stupid human trick” seems to be my ability to instantly see what’s inside the stone without even having to chip it away. It’s a lot faster when the finished sculpture just jumps out at you.