Are You Working on Your Masterpiece?
Have you ever thought about your career or the work you do as
art...as a form of personal creative expression? We can easily
summon an image of the painter, sculptor, musician, writer or
inventor in their studio, engaged in the wonderful process of
creating a masterpiece.
Try applying this analogy to you and the work you do. Your
career...past, present and future is a canvas upon which you are
painting, a block of stone upon which you are chiselling. The
work you do, the life you lead, are the works of art that you
create.
Imagine that pursuit of excellence in the artist we summoned to
our imagination. Are you working purposefully on YOUR
masterpiece...on something that matters to you, something that
requires total engagement and all of your faculties, something
that brings alive your values and imagination, something that
requires your absolute best work, something that will survive
beyond today's work day?
It is very easy to lose sight of the big picture (pun intended)
in the day-to-day survival and busyness of our lives. Who has
time for this kind of thing? Well, if this idea resonates at all
with you, you can easily find justification in the following:
working at this kind of level makes you more attractive to the
market (who doesn't like working with committed, engaged
individuals) and more interesting at cocktail parties. It could
awaken a sense of purpose you have been missing. It could make
you happier. It could be part of your legacy. Heck, find your
own reason.
The Oxford Dictionary defines it as "an outstanding piece of
artistry or workmanship" and "a person's best work." Let me mold
the concept for our purposes:
*Your masterpiece is whatever you say it is, as long as it
represents your BEST work. You are the judge. Ultimately, only
you know if you gave your all. *Your masterpiece can be a thing
that you produce with a start and finish. Or, it can be the
steady, elegant service you provide, or work you do, day-in,
day-out.
*Achieving international acclaim is a wonderful thing. But the
absence of it does not take away from what you have done. If you
can gaze at what you have done with pride, knowing that you gave
/ are giving it your all, then that is masterwork.
*For some people, their life's work is focused on one thing. For
some of us it is less focused. Perhaps, think itty-bitty
masterpieces vs. grand masterpiece.
*Some people embody this ideal in how they live their
lives...and that's really cool.
You get the picture.
So, what are you working on?