Photo credit: Cassandra Workman
“For in it may be seen most beautiful contours of legs, with attachments of limbs and slender outlines of flanks that are divine; nor has there ever been seen a pose so easy, or any grace to equal that in this work, or feet, hands and head so well in accord, one member with another, in harmony, design, and excellence of artistry”. – Giorgio Vasari
Chances are you are not the Michelangelo of your profession. Most of us are not.
And, if you’re like me, comparing yourself to a master like him is the perfect way to kill creativity and destroy self-esteem. Instead, let’s choose to be inspired by him and see what we can learn from his genius to apply to our own work.
Consider this: Michelangelo carved “David” from a piece of marble that had been ignored for more than 25 years due to a repeating flaw in the stone.
The master craftsman’s legacy is defined as much by what he imagined was possible as by his ability to bring it to life.
He worked within the constraints of imperfection and used that limitation as a means of shaping his own capability.
Maybe the door through which you will access your next breakthrough is labeled “flawed” or “passed over.” And maybe that will provide the right conditions to awaken your sense of what’s possible and how to discover it.
Let Michelangelo inspire you. And when you’re done with that, go ahead and inspire yourself.
DAVID BERRY is the author of “A More Daring Life: Finding Voice at the Crossroads of Change” and the founder of RULE13 Learning. He speaks and writes about the complexity of leading in a changing world. Connect with him on Twitter at @berrydavid.
