There is no limit to the abundance and effect of beauty and truth.
I once heard a financial adviser say that stocks are the only thing of which she was aware that people sold low and bought high. She said this to illustrate the point that in trading on stocks as in the rest of our lives the long term goals and strategies we adopt and adhere to are what count. I think the point I walked away with was there is no limit to the abundance of beauty and truth.
I can spend my life focusing upon and looking for the short fall, or I can focus on the abundance of beauty and truth. I am an artisan.
This is a combination of craftsperson and businessperson. As I have entered this life, I have focused at first on the skills necessary to master my craft. This takes time and patience, and it is of a piece in a way. No matter how simple or seemingly elementary the task, doing it properly takes practice and skill. This skill must go in two directions: one not only must know what one wants to do – cut, bore, turn – but one must know why one wants to do it – how does this action fit into the other actions one must perform to execute a specific design. The business side builds out of this constellation of whats and whys organically.
I had a friend who was attending a very respected music school, and he had a talent identified as better than good by the best in his field. Instead of nurturing this talent, however, he chose a way that made him some quick money for awhile. Today, he’s a software engineer without a job or a retirement.
This experience taught me that I want to be serious about finding my mastery in my craft and allow the business side to develop in coordination with that craft. As the business side grows within this perspective it feeds the craft side, revealing new challenges.
Becoming an artisan is saying that I believe in the abundance of truth and beauty.