{"id":1914,"date":"2011-08-17T06:32:46","date_gmt":"2011-08-17T10:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifewithhappiness.com\/?p=1914"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:48","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:48","slug":"learning-from-the-masters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2011\/08\/learning-from-the-masters\/","title":{"rendered":"Apply the Learning of the Masters to your Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When I entered the rotunda of the Galleria dell\u2019Accademie <\/em>in Firenze <\/em>(Florence) for my first live look at this Italian icon, it literally took my breath away.<\/strong> 17 feet tall, sleek and powerful, Michelangelo’s David is truly a marvel — accurate down to the veins on the back of his hands and the chipped toenails on his feet, I fully expected him to start breathing any second.
\n\u201cThis,\u201d I thought, \u201cis a work of brilliance!\u201d<\/strong> Ah, but there\u2019s more to the story, as I learned.<\/p>\n

Inspiration AND Perspiration<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The European Renaissance<\/strong> was a time of great innovation marked by a surge of new knowledge and captured in architecture, sculpture, music, and painting.\u00a0 Before I visited Italy this spring, I imagined gifted Renaissance masters spending their days in sunlit studios, painting or sculpting great works of art in a flowing, effortless climate of creativity and support.
\nThe truth, I learned, was far from my fantasy.<\/strong> Many of those whom we now call Masters were, in their time, mere wage slaves, often struggling to live on a fixed budget set by a wealthy patron who wanted a specific project done on a deadline.\u00a0 Good oil paints, gilt, quality canvas, and fine Carrera marble were not cheap, so these artists were very careful in their use of resources.
\nOut of necessity, then, they spent long hours preparing for their commission.<\/strong> A painting would be sketched in parts and done in miniature to work out spacing many times before moving to a larger field.\u00a0 Then there would be endless pencil and charcoal sketches before final application of oils and gilt onto the final medium (e.g. wood, canvas, or the dome of a cathedral).
\nSculptors followed a similar process.<\/strong> First, multiple sketches; then multiple miniatures of different sizes and in different poses and in different media (e.g. clay, stone) and with varying levels of detail attended to in each piece, so that by the time they put chisel to marble they literally “knew” the work in their head, hands and heart.<\/p>\n

Practice is the surest path to Mastery.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

I now appreciate that the works of the masters really was WORK.<\/strong> Sure, some of them were brilliant.\u00a0 Yet it was their attention to the tiny details that led to \u201cperfection.\u201d\u00a0 Before he created the David in its full splendor, Michelangelo made hundreds of sketches and miniatures, gradually increasing in size and detail.\u00a0 The final product, then, was not a singular act \u2013 it was the manifestation of practice, practice, and more practice.<\/p>\n

Apply the Learning of the Masters to YOUR Goals<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Follow the example of the Masters to improve your probability of success:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Picture your goal.<\/strong> 80% of your brain\u2019s processing is visual, so writing or drawing what you want brings your goal alive.<\/li>\n
  2. Create it in miniature.<\/strong> Big, life-shifting goals generally flop because your system can\u2019t shift that much, that fast.\u00a0 Break your goal into tiny pieces you can implement one at a time, to see how they \u201cfit\u201d into your life\/work.<\/li>\n
  3. Get feedback.<\/strong> Share your progress with others, both for support as well as for ideas to make it better\/easier.<\/li>\n
  4. Adjust, adjust, adjust.<\/strong> The \u201cmarble\u201d of your current habits may not cut exactly as you planned, so don\u2019t be afraid to tweak your design as you go so that it fits into your current reality.<\/li>\n
  5. If it\u2019s not working for you, take it as a lesson and move on<\/strong>.\u00a0 The most moving artwork I saw in Italy was Michelangelo\u2019s \u201cUnfinished Slaves,\u201d a major commission he never finished.\u00a0 Yet he saw them as a great accomplishment, because he learned so much from the process.<\/li>\n
  6. Ground it in your bones.<\/strong> Work on some part of your goal every day.\u00a0 The journey is about progress, not perfection. Some days you\u2019ll finish a mural \u2013 other days a single brushstroke may be all you can do \u2013 yet your constant attention will build goal intimacy.<\/li>\n
  7. Risk, learn, and grow.<\/strong> Michelangelo was a sculptor, and he resisted taking up a brush \u2013 yet today the Sistine Chapel is considered his greatest performance.<\/li>\n
  8. Finally, find the Joy.<\/strong> In the end, choose goals that take care of your passions and feed what YOU really want from life, career, and relationships.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Achieving Mastery of you and your life is simple, yet not easy.\u00a0 Good luck on your Master\u2019s journey!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When I entered the rotunda of the Galleria dell\u2019Accademie in Firenze (Florence) for my first live look at this Italian icon, it literally took my breath away. 17 feet tall, sleek and powerful, Michelangelo’s David is truly a marvel — accurate down to the veins on the back of his hands and the chipped toenails … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,274,40],"tags":[162,168,352,281],"yoast_head":"\nApply the Learning of the Masters to your Goals - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2011\/08\/learning-from-the-masters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apply the Learning of the Masters to your Goals - The Executive Happiness Coach\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I entered the rotunda of the Galleria dell\u2019Accademie in Firenze (Florence) for my first live look at this Italian icon, it literally took my breath away. 17 feet tall, sleek and powerful, Michelangelo’s David is truly a marvel — accurate down to the veins on the back of his hands and the chipped toenails ... 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