Before people express their gifts & find their true artistic touch, their art is often amateurish. Expect that. Every person starts from somewhere; no 5 year old is excelling at the craft (s)he was destined to master. And even as an adult excelling at a particular version of art, there are opportunities to discover more art. For example, when Jerry Rice first worked out on The Hill as an NFL rookie, it “kicked [his] butt” (0:59). Similarly, when JJ Watt first started flipping 1,000 pound tires, he could only flip the tire once in one day (0:42). He eventually perfected the art of flipping these tires, and reached 65 flips in one day. So no matter if you’re novice in all art forms, or even an artist already, there is more art out there to stroke in the world. After all, “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.” (Henry David Thoreau)
This is a very simple concept, but surprisingly many people struggle accepting they are amateurish in certain things and need improvement. People often let their false sense of confidence keep them from looking inside of themselves to find the right strokes for their current art or to discover more art. True confidence is internal though; it’s about being an artist within and recognizing that your art externally can be stroked better. For instance, though The Rock only became an artist to the public in his late 20’s, he was always an artist internally due to his inner world dominance. So although Emerson’s quote that “every artist was first an amateur” rings true on the outside, we are all born artists within. And over time, people are tasked to express their art outwardly and find their unique artistic touch.
Pablo Picasso – “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
The Rock (1:06) – “All of my other teammates who were NFL-worthy were gone; they’re in the NFL signing their big contracts. And I signed a contract in the CFL to make $350/week Canadian. That lasted for 3 months and I got cut. And I got sent back home, and I had to move back in with my parents at 24 years old after I left at 18 ready to tackle the world, and in my way I did. But I had fallen so flat on my face for the first time in my life. I was depressed, asking myself, ‘Why?’ … I got nothing. I literally had $7 in my pocket. That failure – rising from that – to say, ‘It’s not over for me. I’m going to immediately launch myself into training for professional wrestling.'”
– TS Inspired