How To Master Your Craft

It is no secret it is a lot of fun to watch people do what they love. Painters, chess players, pianists and dancers, all these people perform exceptionally well and when you watch them, you realise this is not just a statement. How does this happen? How do people reach a point of success where they love their craft so much, it becomes a part of who they are? It is by following the below suggestions about how to perfect your craft!

1. Find what drives you toward your passion

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Everyone has the power to master certain skills in life. There are so many things one dreams of doing when they were younger, wild and free. The first step of rediscovering what your passion is, is by rediscovering the instinct which drove you toward your passion in the first place. In the process of growing up, you forget what you loved doing, either because of boredom or because of how things pan out. Connect the dots from your childhood, draw a map of what you love, start doing what you loved as a child and slowly, everything starts falling in place. Reconnect to your past and let go of things which are holding you back. Only then can you truly start working toward your passion again.

To sum this up, as Chris Bailey says, “People become experts on a particular subject by accumulating and connecting enough dots related to them, in the form of experiences, knowledge, and best practices. Our brains are naturally programmed to cluster related dots.”

2. Have multiple test runs

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Mastering a craft is not an overnight process. It takes a lot of time, effort and continuous practice to make sure you know what you have set out to do. Once you have chosen your path, you should start reading and learning about different ways to master your skill. This can be done through a number of ways ranging from classes, books, forums, blogs or guides. At the end of the day, do everything possible to sharpen your skill and craft. Test the things you learn in different formats. Make mistakes and learn from them. If all the artists we love didn’t work and rework on their arts constantly, they wouldn’t be who they are today.

3. Stay consistent with your practice

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Deliberate practice takes a lot of time and effort. However, deliberate practice has certain processes you can follow when it comes to staying consistent. Work with a mentor and tell them what your plans are. When you start working with a mentor, you realise you can do a lot more in life than you thought. Mentors help push your dreams and make them come true. Stay consistent in your practice tips and everything will fall in place. It is not a coincidence that the best pianists, athletes and writers practice over and over till they perfect the art. Keep going at your strengths and everything starts going right.

4. Realise that mastering a craft takes sacrifice

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People are great at what they do because of the amount of time and effort they put into perfecting their craft. While practice seems like it is enough, the perfection comes because of a great deal of sacrifice as well. What shapes you as a person is your attitude toward your work. If you truly, deeply want to create something extraordinary, the amount of time you put into what you do matters a lot. The amount of time you put into the task is important. If Da Vinci did not sacrifice a life of comfort for a life of hardship, he wouldn’t have been able to create some truly brilliant works of art.  

5. Keep going

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While working on your craft, it is important to remember you should keep going, no matter what. Be patient. Van Gogh never sold a noteworthy piece of art his entire life. Jeffrey Archer gained recognition after being arrested for the kind of books he wrote. Different people known for their greatness achieved success because they kept going, no matter what. Stay focused on your goal and work on it, despite all the negativity. Everything you want to do is achievable.

Like Napoleon said, “Nothing is impossible.” There is no wrong time and there is nothing which is truly impossible to achieve. Practicing your trade and perfecting your art is what you need to do in order to stand apart. What are your thoughts about how to perfect your craft? Comment and let us know!