1. Study
Whatever it is that I am passionate about in life, I study every aspect of it. Knowledge is power.
I’m passionate about art, I study what goes into the making of a painting or a sculpture. I study the lives of the artists that I admire. I learn about the paints or beads, the different kinds of paper and material, and all the tools involved in making a masterpiece. Basically, I try to learn every single possible thing there is to know about art.
Expertise is not something you are born with…it is something that you earn and develop. Read. Listen. Observe. It doesn’t matter what your passion is… just master it.
2. The 10,000 Hour Rule
The point of this rule is that practice makes perfect. Or rather, practice helps turn luck from a concept into a reality. Any time you are doing something that relates to your passion or whatever it is that you want to master, that time is counted towards your 10,000 hours. I read somewhere that The Beatles practiced for 10,000 hours prior to becoming famous .
Two years ago, I realized and accepted the fact that my passion in life was to bead and paint, and I knew in my heart that my niche would be to “create in color”. It was then that I decided that in order to achieve my dream, I really needed to master my thoughts and ideas. So I began spending my time creating pieces for myself. I work jobs to support my desire for art and travel but every spare moment I have when I’m not at work, I’m talking to or surrounding myself with people that have like interests.
3. Visualize
Whatever it is that I want to experience in life, I visualize it. I see myself doing whatever it is that I desire or want to achieve. I want to be a successful artist, so I visualize what that would look and feel like. I imagine my work on the walls of a gallery. This doesn’t mean that I visualize while sitting back and doing nothing. I have to take some form of action too because visualization without action will not yield results.
I read a biography on the life of Madonna awhile back. Many people recounted how when Madonna was just a club act, she handled every show as if it were a concert in a huge arena. The general conclusion was that she was acting like a superstar even before she became one.
Visualization is a tool that I use frequently because I have seen it work. Many times in my life, I visualized achieving certain goals or having certain funds. And every single time without fail, each item that I visualized became a reality. Sometimes it took hours and other times it took years. But, the interesting thing about visualization is that it works with not only positive thoughts and images but with negative ones too. So I try to take care of what I visualize.
4. Surround Yourself With People Who You Wish To Be Like
The company you keep does have an impact on you. This does not mean that I rid myself of all friends and family. All this means is that I have people in my life who are not only like-minded, but who are also doing what I wish to be doing.
Call it vibes or energy or whatever you wish; the people we spend time with do affect what we do and how we think and feel. Spend time with people who complain about life, inevitably you will start doing the same thing too. Studies have proven this and I have seen it in my own life as well. When I spent time with people who lamented about their lack of success and lack of funds, I experienced those same things. However, when I started to surround myself with positive people who were doing what I wished to be doing, I began to notice how my mindset of lack was being converted into a mindset of abundance. And you know what happened? My awareness of my chosen career path began to expand and I began to notice all the possibilities that were out there.
Someone once told me that you can tell a lot about a person by the company that they keep, so I surround myself with people who are living what I wish to achieve.
5. Be Kind To Every Single Person You Meet
Every single second of every day we are surrounded by people. You never know whom you may meet at the gym or at the coffee house. Every single person you meet might be someone who has the power to change your life for the better.
The person in line behind you at the supermarket may be an agent who can give you a record deal. The person who is sitting next to you on the subway may be the best friend you always wanted but never had. The guy serving you coffee may be your soul mate :)
In our society, we have a tendency to invest more in things than in people. Therefore, many tend to be impolite or totally unaware of others. Compassion and kindness go a long way. Being rude never does any good.
Be blessed…
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