painstaking work

I recently watched an inspiring interview where David Bach was asking Robin Sharma questions about his new book The 5 AM Club.

In the conversation, Robin mentioned how it took him around four years to complete the book. He told that writing and finishing it was not an easy ride. In the end, he had to push the deadline so that he could ensure that the book was the way he wanted it to be. He mentioned how he was not content with certain portions of the book and how he had to work on them again, so that he was both proud and satisfied with the final outcome.

He described this book as his Sistine Chapel. We all know how Michelangelo dedicated his heart and soul for a span of four years to paint the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, which is considered as a masterpiece and one of the most revered paintings in the world today.

This is a great lesson that inspires us not to rush to the destination, but instead ensure that our journey is worthwhile, meaningful and world-class. Whether it be finishing a powerpoint slide, cooking a meal, or writing a blog post, some of us want to rush things so that we could get the end product soon. We are in a hurry to dispatch the goods and be able to meet our deadlines even if we know they don’t exude high quality and excellence.

Instead of focusing on the creation, we need to focus on creating. Instead of focusing on getting to the end result, we can simply focus on making a work of art, no matter what our vocation is. It may take hard work, and a lot of time and painstaking effort, but as our product or creation comes to a completion, we’ll be happy and satisfied with the end result.

Sometimes we need to uncouple time and money, and focus on going deep with our work. Even if it may take longer than usual, at least we’ll be sending a piece of work into the world that reflects our satisfaction and joy. It’s okay not to rush things and take your time as you work on your creative projects, whether they are small or as grand as the Sistine Chapel, otherwise you’ll be doing a disservice to yourself, your genius and the world.

We don’t have control whether our creation is going to be a success or not, but we’ll already be successful because we will know at the core of our being that we created a piece of work with conviction, integrity and in the best way we could with the resources we had.