— Anyone I know who has become seriously great at something (whether at photo artistry or playing the saxophone) became great not for any one massively productive month (or year), but because they were willing to hammer at it and hammer at it and hammer at it, steadily, consistently, for a good long while.
Consistency is what gets it done.
It’s the photographer willing to go out there day after day, week after week, month after month . . .
It’s the digital artist willing to fill notebooks with ideas and endless canvases with experimentation . . .
It’s the writer who sits down every single day at the same time, in the mood or not, and writes . . .
It’s the aspiring pianist who looks ahead to years and years of lessons, practice, and recitals and says, “Bring it on.”
And want to know the trick behind it all?
The trick is simple:
Being perfectly okay with putting in consistent work over the long haul — because the journey itself is going to be such a blast.
And of course you don’t treat the steps in that journey lightly.
You’ve been called to this.
So every day you set out afresh and you put in the work.
Because the amazing thing is, when you do that . . . more often than not, “in the mood” or not at first, you soon find yourself immersed in the journey once again.
With all its challenges, yes.
But also with all its wonders and rewards.
Because it’s there, in the middle of it all, that you ultimately find your mojo.
It’s there you fall in love . . . again and again and again.
~ Sebastian
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PS: The excellent image featured in this post is by AWAKE artist John Jones. It was the sight of that saxophone that inspired this entire post. Reminded me of a story Stephen King tells of his son who took up saxophone lessons, inspired by Clarence Clemons (legendary sax player in Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band). But what King noticed after a while was that his son only ever took the sax out of its case for his mandatory half hour of practice each day. He wasn’t finding any JOY in it or just jamming. He wasn’t finding any MAGIC. And without any joy or magic … what’s the point? So while you need to consistently put in the work, you also need to be sure you’re so devoted to the journey that the work soon dissolves — and becomes play.
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