Growing Your Craft Takes Time

Don’t be in such a hurry to get to the finish line. Its a hard lesson to learn, but in all situations the journey to get there provides more benefit than the destination. Remember its all about relationships.

Dig in for the long haul

As a boy, Leonardo DaVinci stole paper and headed into the woods to practice drawing plants and animals. Later, he copied many of the artists he saw, and over many years became what many claim was the most technically gifted artist in history. (Comfortpit, 2014) What does this have to do with your concerns about growing your talent?

Well, it shows that it is going to take time and focused efforts to reach your goals. DaVinci was dedicated to his craft even before he knew it would be one of the chief things he would be remembered for. This should be inspiring news to anyone who is hoping to improve their skills and enhance their career.

We don’t sneak away to the woods to draw on stolen paper, but the process of working out your gifts normally follows your passion. Next week, we discuss passions and work. You can still grow your craft in a way that sees you improve every day. Some very simple steps include:

• Classes – Boring unless its the right teacher. No matter your field, there are always formal and informal training classes that will boost your abilities. Don’t be shortsighted here. For example, you may be in a corporate setting and feel that the development of your craft is not possible, but training classes are a major corporate tool. Blah blah blah.
• Mentoring – This is the preferred method of “class”. Whether you are the mentor or the person being mentored, this is an amazing way to develop insight. In either role, the experience is inspiring. The teamwork and collaboration bring more than just improvements to your craft and may show you how to work effectively in a leadership role.
• Discipleship – Even better. Though this word has a religious context, you find disciples for self-improvement experts, modern lifestyle experts, corporate leaders, and so on. When you want to succeed in the same ways as a role model, become a disciple, understand their development and trajectory, and design your path based on what you learn.
• Develop an Eye – This is the free and least personal version of the above methods. If its cinematography, website design, or other creative (and even many non-creative) crafts, learn what is good from what is not. Yes, there is something subjective about this idea, but it is not hard to discover what works in your area of interest and what flops. A great way to gauge whether or not you are developing an eye is to look at your work from several years earlier. If you hate it, it is a sign that your craft has improved and that you are getting a good and honest eye.

The classic film making career would have you joining a film making production company serving coffee to the higher ups, but what it offers is proximity to important people who can act as mentors and teachers. Take advantage. We believe the best way to learn something is by doing it and even better to do it under the eye of a master.

Whether you have been working successfully in Dallas or Fort Worth and just want to move to the next level, or you are hoping to get started in a field that you enjoy, you can build your creative skills and grow your craft – it just takes time and dedication.

Read a related article about taking time to grow here.