Greatness Never Emerges Outside of Hard Work

Just about everybody has their own aspirations and goals in life, but do they ever achieve them? And if they do, are they successful? The fifth chapter of The Artisan Soul by Erwin Raphael McManus emphasizes on your "craft" and what you are meant to do in life, ir if you're even good at it.

He compares legendary names such as Mozart who was extremely talented but never lived past the age of 35. If he lived a longer life, would he have continued to write and compose music or would he fade away into the shadows and live the rest of his life seemingly forgotten?

McManus also compares this concept to famous professional athletes. They are role models and seen as heroes, but their professional careers don't exactly last very long, as most athletes retire between their 30's and 40's. The reason being is because they are their best in their prime, in their youth; and as time goes on, and their bodies ware down due to the physicality of the sport they play, it is only natural for them to hit a decline eventually.

In order to succeed in your craft you have to both be good at what you do and love what you do. You cannot have one without the other and be successful. No matter whether that talent is found at an early age or later in life, a lot of hard work must go into that craft for it to succeed as well.

As McManus says, "the unifying theme between those who find their unique talent at an early age and those for whom that talent takes a lifetime to develop: Greatness never emerges outside of hard work," (p. 125-126).

McManus goes on to list an entire page of occupations that he once held during his lifetime, and then explained where he is now as a designer and entrepreneur... he didn't know what he wanted to do right away, but he worked his way up, and eventually found his craft which he is succeeding in.

I remember when I was a child, the different occupations that I wanted to be. At the age of four, I wanted to be a firefigher, but then I grew out of that phase. At the age of six, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I loved sea life and was obsessed with sharks, but then as time went on, I realized that you had to be good at science for that career, which is something that I was not, and I completely threw that career idea down the drain. Then I got into sports, especially American football, and by the time I reached the eighth grade, I wanted to be a professional football player, but that didn't work out because (1) I was too small, (2) I didn't start on my high school football team, and (3) I realized that I would never be able to play college sports while being a full-time student as the workload would be too difficult for me.

These realities hit me around my sophomore/junior year in high school, and by that time, I realized what I actually wanted to do in life. I wanted to become a sports journalist... I was a good writer, I enjoyed public speaking, I had good communication skills and it would combine my love for sports. About six years later, here I am writing this blog, preparing for my final semester of college, where I will then graduate with my BA in Journalism. Every part of the way in pursuing this career, I have enjoyed and loved... I believe that I have found my craft.

Of course, I am still young and there is a whole lot of life to live. A career in sports journalism is something that I have worked extremely hard towards pursuing in college, through internships, though being part of the staff in my universities student-media, and eventually a real-world job in the profession with either a sports media outlet or a professional sports team organization. And I plan to do this for a long time, past the age of 35, and for the majority of my life.

I want to do what I love, I want to succeed through hard-work, and I want to be the best I can be at my craft.