There is an unlikely story about the renaissance artist Michelangelo.
When he was asked about the difficulties he encountered while sculpting his masterpiece David he, as the story goes, summed up his creative process in s very unassuming and comical way.
“It’s easy. You just chip away the stone that doesn’t look like David.”
There is another similar anecdote about an unnamed artist who was asked about sculpting an elephant.
“Just chip away everything that doesn’t look like an elephant.”
Now I‘m sure I don’t have to explain where this is going but please indulge me as I share some thoughts on this. You see, all too often in life we keep looking for things to do. Things to change. Things to add to our life in order to be better and feel better and be happier.
We look for coping mechanisms and ways to find our purpose and our why. We look for books to tell us what else we can do and what techniques and protocols we can add and include in our need and drive to be better.
Now even though there is no substantive evidence that Michelangelo actually made the above remarks it was discussed in an 1858 essay in “The Methodist Quarterly Review” and in the publication the author shared more of the alleged quotes.
“It is the sculptor’s power, so often alluded to, of finding the perfect form and features of a goddess, in the shapeless block of marble; and his ability to chip off all extraneous matter,and let the divine excellence stand forth for itself. Thus, in every incident of business, in every accident of life, the poet sees something divine, and carefully scales off all that encumbers that divinity, and permits it to be revealed in all its transcendent loveliness.”
Did you see the important in there that I want to you to see?
Chip off all the extraneous matter.
Get rid of the parts you don’t need.
Find the true form underneath all the non valuable parts.
Find the unseen beauty inside.
Back to Michelangelo and his alleged comments on his work and creativity.
In 1883 George F. Pentecost, a religious writer of the time, published and essay called “The Angel in the Marble” in which he described an episode from his childhood when he knew a down-and-out sculptor – Michelangelo – who acquired a large rough piece of marble and placed it in his shed studio.
The following was, as Pentecost told it, the dialogue with the sculptor.
Pentecost: “Mr. M., what are you going to make out of that?”
Sculptor: “My boy, I am not going to make anything out of it. I am going to find something in it.”
Pentecost: “Why, what are you going to find in it?”
Sculptor: “There is a beautiful angel in that block of marble, and I am going to find it. All I have to do is to knock off the outside pieces of marble, and be very careful not to cut into the angel with my chisel. In a month or so you will see how beautiful it is.”
Every single one of us is that block of marble.
Every single one of us.
And there is something amazing and beautiful and wonderful and valuable in there.
Here’s the hard truth…
YOU need to start chipping away at your own marble.
No one is going to do it for you.
YOU need to visualise what’s inside your marble.
No one can do that for you.
YOU need to figure out what needs to be chipped away and what you should not cut into.
Pretty fucking scary right? Having to make that decision? To start chipping away without knowing what you’re looking for. Having to decide what to chip away at, being expected to know what you should keep and what the final product is going to look like.
So, let’s look at The David again.
Did you know that the block of marble that Michelangelo used to carve “David” was worked on more than 50 years earlier by Donatello?
At that time the marble was said to have had a flaw in it and the project was abandoned.
Donatello saw a flaw and stopped.
He gave up.
Michaelangelo didn’t.
Gonna say this again…
Every single one of us is that block of marble.
Every single one of us.
And there is something amazing and beautiful and wonderful and valuable in there.
YOU need to start chipping away at your own marble.
No one is going to do it for you.
YOU need to visualise what’s inside your marble.
No one can do that for you.
YOU need to figure out what needs to be chipped away and what you should not cut into.
Now you can think about it and talk about it all you want, but unless you start chipping away at the marble that holds your potential you are never going to realise the potential inside.
If you don’t know how to start or how to chisel or what you’re looking for or you’re scared cause you don’t want to make a mistake then at least start!
Make one small chip in the marble.
Then make another one.
And then make another one.
This is something I have been seeing with my coaching clients – many of them not even aware that they’ve been chipping away at their marble and that they’re slowly revealing their potential and purpose. I cannot even begin to explain how fulfilling it is to me to see someone start seeing, first in their mind and then bit by bit in the marble, their own David.
To me, one of the saddest things in the world is seeing someone not realise their full potential and be the best version of themselves. To see someone just be happy with a block of marble rather than the masterpiece that is hidden inside.
We are all flawed – all of us – but please, please don’t be like Donatello and give up (on yourself) because you see flaws.
Focus on you the big piece of marble you are and keep chipping away at everything that doesn’t look like the person you want to be.
Chip away at everything that isn’t you.
Find your David.
